Star Wars: It's So Much Bigger (A Meditative Crossover Story)
by Matheos86
Summary: What did Luke Skywalker mean when he said to Rey, "It's so much bigger"? What did he mean when he said, "I only know one truth: it's time for the Jedi to end"? Here is a story, set some years before The Force Awakens, that will give you a surprising answer to those questions. There was a test coming to all the Jedi. And one of them had to pass it first. Did he? Did they?
1. An Encounter on the Mountain

**A/N**

 **Peace thanks for checking this story out! You're in for a provocative read. I have to say this was first meant to be a one-shot. But people wanted to see how it would continue and how all the ties would connect to TFA/TLJ, so it ended up with 7 chapters.** **The first chapter requires much engagement – it does not disclose the names to the very end and some not even then. But it's all there, you just have to think, associate and connect the dots. Some of the names and clues are important for the story, others are more like easter eggs. It will be easiest for SWTOR/Galaxies players or avid Wookiepedia readers Bible readers and Semitic languages students, but that's not required to follow it. Enjoy!**

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He was ambitious. Young. And tired. Not sure whether more from the obstacles to his ambition or from the ambition itself. A light breeze caressed his sweating forehead, as if trying to calm him down. He was not upset, no. Yet peace eluded him, too. The mountain was steep, but his unrest was propelling him up. He couldn't help but wonder, _Why the red one?_ Of all those he could find... the red one? Maybe he chose the wrong mountain. But research showed that all the mountains sloping to the gold-beached coastlines were hiding those peculiar orange crystals.

Oh, the gold beaches! He could have been on one right now, enjoying that soft pearly powder surpassed only by the caressing freshness of the sea and the gentle smile of his mother. Yes, each of those summers had a special place in his heart. But he was no longer a child. And he wished some other people got that, too. He was ready. This summer would be a milestone.

 _But, why the red one?_ The voice in his head kept repeating. _And why are you climbing to the top? Don't you know crystals are more likely to be found lower in the mountains? Are you searching for a crystal, or for something else? Are you running off?_ The thoughts almost seemed to taunt him.

He had all the parts. In fact, he almost finished it, but it was still too unstable to turn it on. And he was still hoping to find an orange crystal.

Without noticing, he was getting close to the peak. When breeze turned to wind, and after that to wind gusts, he knew. He didn't look up. He increased his pace instead. He wanted to climb that mountain. For no apparent reason. But he wanted it bad and wanted it now. Maybe the peace was waiting for him there. All his previous thoughts gave way to the mountain. It was the one thought, the one relief he sought in this one moment. He was not hiking anymore, he was running. Uphill. He was leaving every obstacle behind. His pounding steps left stones rolling down for hundreds of meters. He jumped over the rocks, bouncing off the green grass so high he surprised himself. The steeper it got, the faster he was.

Finally, the steepness gave way to a gentle slope, a rather wide meadow that is the top of this mountain. He slowed down but continued walking briskly toward the higher ground. As he lifted his head, a beautiful scene gladdened his heart: gold beaches from down afar were glimmering just over the peak. Finally, he reached the highest ground of this strangely tame-looking meadow. Only the wind gusts betrayed a rather extreme nature of its location. And the cliff at the other end of the peak. And the view. Wonderful view.

He sat. Two seas, one before him, the other behind. Both rimmed with gold beaches. Two cities between them. Cities with much personal and national history. His thoughts went to the infamous revolution that happened in the year he was born. He couldn't remember it, he wasn't even living here at the time. But he listened about it all throughout his childhood. His family could never get tired of relating those events and warning of the dangers such cults pose. He would often think they were giving too much of a credit to those clowns.

But just today, he saw graffiti in the city – the very same that were being drawn throughout the capital by those fanatics prior to the revolution attempt. Yes, he knows that this one was probably written by a rebellious highschooler sick of history classes. Still, it bothered him. Not the graffiti, but the philosophy of that cult. It bothered him that he could see himself agreeing with some of their tenets. What if we really are slaves of the Force? What if its mighty river can be turned only by those who reach out to the dark si... _Oh, stop it! Bunch of mumbo jumbo!_ he admonished himself. He couldn't believe he was considering the eccentric religious ramblings of the terrorists from times past. Their sacrifices to those that are Beyond. What delusion.

To break off those unprofitable thoughts, he got out his nearly finished product. It is unstable and the crystal is cracked, true. But he placed vent irises on each side. Now only to fixate the vent shrouds, and he could actually try and turn it on. Seemingly forgetting he was on top of the mountain beaten by wind gusts, he got into serious work. Finally, he thought the vent shrouds were fixated enough to guard his hands. As he was about to turn it on, he heard the voice, this time not in his head, shouting, "The Force is with you, thou mighty man of valor!"

He instinctively hid away his creation and put it in the backpack. Whether because he wasn't sure if it would burn his hands or because he instinctively wanted to hide what he was doing, he couldn't tell. But there they were. Three men climbing to the meadowy top of the mountain. Seeing they were tired fellow hikers with depleted water supplies, he offered, "Come sit down and have some water. And I've got delicious rations, too. I can share some with you."

"You may do as you say," responded one of them.

Strange talk, he thought, but they were smiling and very kind-looking. They sat beside him, drank and ate in silence. He contemplated those peculiar figures. They were dressed in unfamiliar clothing, somewhat unrefined. One of them was brown-haired and young-looking, with an especially calm demeanor. Sitting next to him was a gray-haired, bearded man, with a wise flicker in his eyes. The third one had a long white beard. He was the one who spoke first. He gave the impression of a seasoned leader, albeit one who had not desired to be one. His tone of voice was an unusual mixture of boldness and humility. Most unusual of all, both the gray and the white man gave the impression of being aged, but not worn. Not old. And the young-looking brown man seemed even more aged.

He couldn't explain it. He just stared at them.

After several strangely quiet minutes, quiet not in a menacing but in a serene way, the white man asked, "Where is your uncle?"

Intrusive as it was, the tone of the question wasn't menacing either. It was... caring. And it confirmed one thing: those hikers were no ordinary people. It seemed they knew something about him. "Do not fear, brother, we cannot read your mind," the brown man added before he could muster an answer, "only One can."

"You mean, where is my master?"

"No. Your uncle. There is only one Master."

Ignoring this odd "only one" lingo, he finally said, "I don't know. At the Academy perhaps."

"Why are you here?" the gray man joined in, giving him a short, flickering, warm glance, and then turning back to watch the glittery sea, as if lending him time to think about the question.

"I'm running from myself," was the first thing he could say.

"How far did you make?"

"Not far. You know, I've got this problem. Whenever I'm running, myself runs, too."

The gray man chuckled benevolently at this attempt of a joke, "You know," he paused, "eventually, you have to stop running. You'll never overcome yourself that way. You must face yourself through the power of One, young man of valor, and let Him do the battle."

The young man was about to say he wasn't just running from himself, but also running to accomplish what he thought was rightfully his to accomplish. But somehow he knew this running to wasn't as important as his running from.

"I was once running, too," the gray man began his story. "Eventually, I settled into a cave and went to sleep. I didn't want to eat, I didn't want to live. And then the word of the One came. He said, 'Why are you here?' And He called me by name. I began to recount all the troubles I went through trying to do good, to get my people back on the right track, and I proclaimed that injustice was the only thing I got for it."

The young man tried to draw the parallels. No. He didn't go through many troubles. He wasn't especially fervent in doing good. But the injustice, yes, he felt injustice was being done to him.

Ignorant of his thoughts, the gray man continued, "Then the word of the One said, 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the One.' And, behold, the One passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the One; but the One was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the One was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the One was not in the fire: and after the fire," he paused, "a still small voice."

"A still small voice?"

"You see, young man, you think you know much of the Force. Your uncle thinks he knows much of the Force. You seek to master the powers of the Force, but you don't know that the true power lies in hearing the still small voice, the voice of the One."

"Who are you, people? I've never heard anyone talk like this. Where do you come from?"

"Originally, from a planet in a galaxy far, far away," the white man interjected, "presently from, what some of your people would call, the Beyond."

Now the young man grew nervous. Could it be that those are the fanatics of the Beyond? Some who survived and got old but stuck to the folly of their youth? "That is a rubbish that was believed by terrorists," he snapped.

"Indeed," the brown man joined the discussion, "don't think for a moment we subscribe to that false religion. They believed that they communicated with the dead, while instead, they communicated with someone much worse."

"What could be worse than the Sith?"

"Believe us, there are such beings. What you must first know is that the dead are really dead. They know nothing. They don't communicate with anyone. They don't live in the Beyond, which is a physical place, not a cloud of bodiless souls. They await the recollection of their dust and their life." He paused for a moment, and then looked the young man straight in the eyes, gently but firmly, "This remember, it will be a testing truth."

The young man was taken aback by the authority with which this man spoke that line but quickly got himself back together. "Well, don't some of them manage to become Force spirits?" he asked.

"Oh, there _are_ what you call Force spirits, but they are not who you think they are. They are not connected to the dead in any way, except that they like to imitate them. They reproduce exactly the same appearance, the same voice, the same gestures. They are masterful at it."

"What you're saying is contrary to what my uncle believes. Contrary to the teachings of masters Jinn, Kenobi and Yoda," he got up and started pacing around the peak, held back for a moment by a strong wind gust. Clouds over the cities became larger and darker. He saw the brown man looking at him with what seemed like a genuine compassion.

The same expression decorated the white man, as he uttered almost reluctantly, "The Jedi were wrong before, were they not?"

The young man knew he was going to say something stupid, but anger got the better of him, "So, what are you saying? The Acolytes of the Beyond got it better? The Sith got it better?!" There was silence. He sighed, stopped walking around and sat back beside the three visitors. He shook his head, "I'm sorry. I know you don't think that. I know."

After a quick pause, the white man continued, "If we could ever be forced to choose a side in the senseless conflict between the Sith and the Jedi, we would always side with the Jedi. They may be wrong on many points, but they sincerely want to do good. They want to expel selfishness from the heart, though through ill-informed methods. But they got good intentions. The Sith chose selfishness as a virtue and produced myriad of rationalizations to make it sound righteous and salutary for the world at large. Those are all lies."

"Well, I'm glad you said it."

"Are you?" the white man looked at him piercingly. "Why are you settling for the red one?"

The young man was paralyzed with shame, "How… Why…"

"Do not fear. We are not here to judge you," the white man spoke in reassuring tones.

"We are here to help you", the gray man interjected. "To help you get back on the right track. You see, when your conscience is judging you, you tend to see others as judging you. You tend to hear every voice as judging or even taunting you. It happened down there on the mountain path before you started running, had it not?"

"So you do read minds, don't you?"

"Certainly not," the gray man responded quickly, tapping his young-looking brown friend on the shoulder, "as my old friend said, only One can do that. We are just quite experienced with human hearts. We watched the life histories of unnumbered mortals for thousands of years. And we lived through one such life. There are patterns. Only one running from both himself and the voice of the One could run uphill so fast. You transformed your spiritual struggle into the physical one, feeling that you will find peace at the peak of this mountain."

"But you _do_ read minds!"

"Blasphemy!" the gray man was adamant. "That is what your Force spirits want you to believe. If anyone _seems_ to read someone's mind, it is because they are doing it under the inspiration from those ancient inimical spirits who know information about the deceived victim that they do not. It is a despicable trickery." He pronounced that not with hatred or fear, but with disgust, as if the slightest contact with those spirits were like being in contact with the most deadly disease. "Verily, I am telling you the truth, only One can read the mind. What we three know is from experience, and from the wisdom of the One."

Surprised at himself for not asking sooner, the young man finally let the flood of questions multiplying in his mind come out, "You said you lived a mortal life, yet you are still alive, for thousands of years. You said the dead are really dead and await the recollection of their dust and life. Has that happened to you? If yes, why not to others? You said the Jedi got it wrong and the Sith teachings are even worse. Well, what is the truth about the Force? How do you know what is in my backpack? And most importantly", he paused to catch his breath, "who is this One?"

"We usually call Him otherwise," the brown man responded. "But that title was misused in your galaxy for those who were heads of the Sith. You will learn all in time. As a mortal, I have walked with the One for more than three hundred years, centuries before my friends here. Finally, the One decided that I could continue my walk with Him without dying. There were multitudes of others throughout the ages who walked uprightly with Him. But I was living early in the history of our planet, and He made me a lesson that gave comfort to generations of mortals who hoped in Him. Instead of dying, or living many more years among a rebellious, hard-hearted generation, I was clothed with immortality and taken to live in the Beyond."

He turned to the gray man, "my friend here was granted the same mercy." Then he leaned over to the white man, "He is the only one who experienced death."

"I was not about to," he quickly responded. "But I made a mistake. I let anger and pride take over for a moment and I dishonored the character of the One before the eyes of the whole nation I was appointed to lead to Him. The Enemy used that against me, and I was laid to the grave earlier than planned. But the One was exceedingly gracious. He contended with the Enemy over my body and prevailed. Then my dust was recollected and life was given back to me. I was clothed with immortality and taken to live in the Beyond."

"Are there others like you?" the young man asked.

"There are some," the brown man responded, "those who were clothed with immortality on the day the One was victorious over death. Besides us, and that group, no other mortal was ever taken to live in the Beyond. All others, hundreds of billions, lie in their places of rest, awaiting the recollection of their dust and life on the last day."

The young man was pondering this markedly different picture of the afterlife.

"And we are the only ascended humans who were ever allowed to speak with a mortal. The first time it happened, my two friends were sent to encourage the One while He was living a mortal life on our home planet. This is their second time. For me, it is the first. Otherwise, the One does not allow it precisely because your Force spirits like to impersonate dead people. It is not a reliable means of communication. The temptation would be too high, even for the faithful, to try and communicate with the dead. And they would be communicating with the ancient inimical spirits instead. Devastatingly, some of them already do."

"So, the One was mortal like you?" the young man asked.

"Yes, but He chose to be mortal," the white man answered. "He did not have to. In Him is life, underived, unborrowed, original. But His affection toward the human race led Him to lay His immortality aside. He could have lost it forever. But He overcame," he paused, turning towards the young man, and then smiled and tapped him on the shoulder. "There is much more to this, brother. But now, we must tell you what we were sent to tell you."

"We came to speak to you in the name of the One," the gray man began. "The very name of the mountain you are sitting on is the word that in our maternal language means 'to speak'. The One led the naming and led you to this mountain so that you could believe. But take heed, the same word in our maternal language also means 'to fade'. If you do not act upon what you've heard, the words that we spoke to you today will fade with time, and you will end up even more confused than you are now. Our words will become mixed with the lies that the Enemy is already sowing into your mind, and you will find yourself heeding his voice. He will lead you to do such terrible things you would never think possible for you to do. That becomes of the men who harden their hearts against the still small voice of the One."

A chill went throughout the young man's spine, but he was interrupted by the gray man, "Do not fear. That does not have to become your destiny. It does not have to become anyone's destiny. Your grandfather had a most wise friend. He once told him the vital and comforting truth, 'the most difficult trial a Jedi must face is to look inside oneself. Often we see things we don't like. But these aspects are not set in stone. It is our decisions that shape our destinies.'"

"Nothing is set in stone", the brown man affirmed. "When you hear someone telling you that something is your destiny and you cannot do otherwise, know that he speaks not the truth. It is the seed of the Father of Lies. And one of the most successful of his seeds sown in this galaxy is the lie that you can master the Force."

Something exploded within the heart of the young man when he heard it. A gust of wind sent ripples throughout the meadow.

"We were never meant to master the Force," the white man took his turn. "We were meant to connect with the only One who can master it. Both the Sith and the Jedi try to be little gods, commanding supernatural powers like it is their prerogative to do so, thinking they are drawing power from the same impersonal Force. 'Light. Darkness. A balance,'" he paused as he looked intently into the young man's eyes, "It's so much bigger."

"The Force is not impersonal", the gray man interjected. "It is not an energy to be tossed around. It is the power carried by personal forces, immensely superior beings. And there are two opposing forces. Yes, you could say their power ultimately came from the same source – the One. But they chose to use it differently. The One does not force anyone. And when some of His first children, the ancient angelic spirits, decided to use their powers against His law of love, that same law required to give them the freedom to do so, the freedom of choice."

"It is the holiest matter for the One. The freedom of choice," the brown man was solemn. "He guards it without compromise. And it is your guarantee that if the army of all the Sith in the galaxy, even all the ancient inimical spirits, would come upon you to force you into choosing the evil path, they would be powerless, for the all-powerful One does not allow them to do so. Take heart in this truth."

The young man felt hope rising in his heart that was being battered with the conflict for too long.

"Yes", the brown man carried on, "all the hosts of unfallen ancient spirits would be called to your side sooner than your freedom of choice taken away. You cannot be overpowered if you choose the One. But your predicament is that you, as do all the Jedi, choose the Force. You like to feel the power, to be powerful."

"The test that is coming to you and all the Jedi," the white man added portentously, "is to lay aside your power."

"What?!"the young man exclaimed, appalled. He began to pace around again.

"We cannot work with the Sith," continued the white man. "Power is all to them. But the Jedi have many seeds of truth in their teaching. They are using the power, but they treat it as the means, not the goal. Yet the time of decision is coming. Using the Force as the means is not safe. It never was, and more so today."

"Why?"

"Because humans were never meant to be gods. And when they try to act against their nature to be one, they get help from the ancient inimical spirits, those who first tried to be gods."

"Are you telling me that each time a Jedi uses the Force, he uses the power of some evil spirit? That doesn't make any sense. The Sith use the same power. Why would the one and the same power lead to conflicts between those who wield it?"

"You tell me, brother. Is that not what you already believe?"

The young man was stupefied. Feeling like his legs were cut off, he stopped walking and sat back down. He whispered, "Light side of the Force. The dark side of the Force… side of the Force", he hesitated and then reiterated, "Light. Darkness. A balance," he slapped his side. "What balance?! A conflict!"

He recollected himself, "Alright, you got me thinking. But I found a hole in your teaching. If it is ridiculous to think that one impersonal Force leads its wielders to fight each other, isn't it even more ridiculous to think that one army of _personal_ forces leads their wielders to fight each other?"

"Not if they do not care about their wielders," the gray man took over.

The young man listened intently.

"The only thing they care is how much revenge they can get on the One. Ever since they were banished to the Abyss after losing the war they had started in the blissful Beyond, there are three main goals on their daily agenda."

"First," he plucked a petal from a lovely silvery-purple wild Rominaria flower, "misrepresent the character of the One as selfish, self-serving, without compassion and with an insatiable hunger for power and glory, which is exactly who _they_ are."

"Second," he plucked another of the three big petals, "convince as many children of the One that they are gods, or can become gods, which the spirits achieve effectively through inspiring them with the belief that they are inherently immortal and that they have sufficient wisdom and power to live without the One."

"Third," he tore off the last petal, to which the stalk of the flower immediately bent down, "destroy or cause the suffering of as many children of the One, because it breaks His heart every time, especially if those who died had concluded their life in enmity against Him and are thus lost for eternity. If the inimical spirits will never again get to the blissful Beyond, they want to make sure they pull as many as they can with them into awaiting the final annihilation."

The stalk and its leaves were getting dry quickly, as this species was getting its water and nutrients from the fleshy petals receiving and storing it from the rain and dew. The countenance of the white man suddenly became very sorrowful. He gently covered the stalk with the neighboring grass. "If the inimical spirits can advance the first or the second goal through their wielders, they will not attempt to destroy them. In fact, they will often bless them with much power and influence. But as soon as those do not seem usable anymore, or worse, begin to oppose their guidance through listening to the voice of the One, they will make every effort to cause those to suffer or die, be it the most useful Sith they ever had."

"But why does the One let them do it?" young man was perplexed.

"Excellent question," the white man responded. "But we don't have time for it right now. It is all in the book we are going to give your uncle."

"You are going to visit my uncle?"

"Yes."

"Now understand this," the brown man took the word. "When we said the Sith and the Jedi were using the powers of the same evil forces, we did not want to equate them. In fact, the One was so patient in His love that sometimes He intervened in the lives of the Jedi to lend them His mastered power, while they were thinking it was them mastering it. He rather did _that_ then let them intertwine with the forces of darkness. But he was reproached in the Universal Council for that. The leader of the inimical spirits, known as the Enemy, reminded the delegates that the One operates on the principles of truth. He, as the leader of the forces who broke away with the law of love, could use deception. The One cannot. He must not lend the Jedi His mastered power and let them think it is theirs. The Enemy can because he is not bound by the law of love to avoid deception and manipulation. The One was aware that some of His urgent interventions could be defended, but it could not be defended as a default way of operating."

"So, that's why so many Jedi fall to the dark side. Again, and again." The young man was beginning to connect the clues for solving the puzzle that plagued him for some time. "We weren't meant to master the Force. In believing that we were doing so, the Force was mastering _us_. And for the great majority of the time, it was the dark side – _personal_ dark forces masquerading as one neutral, impersonal Force."

It was getting dark. The clouds were becoming dense, gusts of wind more intense. Flashes of lightning were seen from afar.

"Yes, young man of valor. The One has a mighty mission for you!" the white man tapped him on the shoulder and stood up, followed by others. The three visitors wrapped their hands around each other and included the young man in the circle. The white man looked him straight in the eyes, and shouted over the wind, "Be warned, brother. Dark forces are not happy with this meeting. Your soul will be assailed. But never forget, your freedom of choice _cannot_ be overpowered. It is time for a decision, and you must decide before your uncle. You must decide to lay down your power and trust in the One who has all power. Talk to Him, ask Him for help. The One laid aside His _omnipotence_ for you, even His life."

As he said that, a big blue lightning flashed in the clouds, and it seemed to linger for a moment or two, having a shape similar to the Cross of Healing. "You can lay aside this small amount of power you think you have. After you win that battle with yourself, letting the One do the battle, go to your uncle Luke. He will have already talked with us, and he will have the book that will answer all the questions you now have. It is the book which the One began writing through me, back on my home planet. Generations of others who followed Him continued and finished it after 1500 years." He put both of his hands on the young man's shoulders, and looked him in the eyes even more intently, with a fatherly look of deep care and love. "Read it. Study it. It will be your life."

Tears began falling down the cheeks of the young man. "And Ben", the white man added, "when you read it, look for the names Enoch, Elijah and Moses. Names of your old friends who cannot wait to see you make it in the blissful Beyond so that they can talk to you again."

Ben hugged them, sobbing, while the rain started to fall. After he was crying for some time, he suddenly realized he was laying on the wet grass.

He looked around. No one was on the wide meadow. No trace of the visitors. He reached for his rations. They were not eaten. He reached for his water. It was the same amount as before he gave it to the visitors to drink. There were no plucked Rominaria petals.

He got up.

He got angry.

Was that just a stupid dream? _Lay down his power…_ he sniffed. But it looked so real. And then, he could hear the still small voice, saying, "It was a vision. And it was real."

He looked for a clue, walking around the meadow. The rain was now falling hard, and the grass was soaked. When he got to the center of the meadow, there was a strange marking. The grass was beaten in a particular shape, several meters long. Wait, it was a symbol. Ben stepped back in surprise. It was dry! And it was the same symbol he saw in a vision, the big blue lightning which lingered. What did this symbol mean? He never saw it before the vision. Yes, it was similar to the Cross of Healing emblem which represented the Force healing, but it was also different. Like the Corellian Cross, its horizontal line was shorter, but it was not crossing the longer vertical line in its center, but rather in its upper part. He tried to remember when did it appear in the vision. Yes! It appeared after the white man said, 'The One laid aside His omnipotence for you, even His life'.

He grew uneasy. He got the message. Lay down his power? He began walking around the meadow again. Finally, he went back to the place he was laying on. There was a small parchment there, with several lines written in an unfamiliar alphabet. Some letters looked familiar, though. Was that Grek, or Usk? Or Peth upside-down? Was that Isk, or Resh? Was that Mern, or Cherek? Oh, there was Osk. And Krill, too! Yes, those letters looked very similar to Aurebesh. Wait, there was a message written in smaller, Aurebesh letters. It read, "You see, our alphabets are not that different, after all. May the One be with you." He felt a prick in his heart. Oh, if he could talk with those three men again. They breathed an atmosphere of such calm, such genuine care. They radiated wisdom, but a humble kind of wisdom. Authority, but a gentle kind of authority. Why can't he talk to them again?

He heard the still small voice again, "You can talk to me, my child." The One? How could he talk to the One? He never saw such a being. No Jedi ever talked about anything like that, not even Yoda. Doubts began seeping in as if falling onto his head together with the rain. What if this voice is just his own thoughts? Or worse, what if this is some kind of a Sith trickery? What if they were trying to make him lay down his power so that they could attack and destroy him?

He threw the parchment down and began anew his nervous pace. He went to the center of the meadow. The wind was blowing hard. The cross symbol became wet, and its shape was increasingly harder to discern. Thunder was getting closer. It crashed and rumbled, just as did anger that started building up in his heart. Dark dense clouds gathered on his face. But he still heard the voice: "All will be clear when you read the Book. Now please, my beloved child, talk to me. I can help you. You are no match for their deceptive power. They have practiced this for thousands of years. But they are no match for me. I am from eternity past, the One who is, who was, and is to come. I am so much bigger than their powers. You don't have to fight alone. You don't have to use their force."

The words lingered in his mind, and it seemed something kept at bay the full force of the storm. As if the invisible wall was standing between him and this weather disturbance. The wind died down, and a light breeze caressed his sweating forehead, as if trying to calm him down.

"Talk to me, my beloved child. Accept my love. Accept my help."

The words of the still small voice echoed for a time, awaiting his decision.

And it came.

"I need help… from NO ONE!" he yelled as a violent gust of wind blew in and encircled him. "And I… am… NO CHILD!" Lightning struck the place where the parchment laid, burning it instantly. "You will not get me!" Ben's tempestuous voice echoed all over the mountain. "Oh, but we already have," came back the taunting answer. "Nooo!" he screamed a battle cry as he turned on his lightsaber.

It was of the same shape as the big blue lightning from the vision. Only upside-down. And red.

He began running and jumping around the meadow, waving and thrashing with his unstable lightsaber, as if performing an insane dance. He was slashing and burning hectically all the grass around him. Battling with his invisible enemies. Not realizing they were inside his mind, doing the insane dance, laughing and relieved that the One was banished from that place.

And the raindrops seemed like endless tears, falling from Beyond...

His life was meant to be so much bigger.


	2. The Descent

**A/N**

 **And now, the officially most-action filled chapter of the story. Enjoy the ride!**

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Luke was running. Violently. Seemingly oblivious to the even more violent wind gusts and rain torrents beating on his face. Lightning was striking close and bright, revealing the expression of unprecedented panic on his face. But this panic was not propelling him to run away. He was running _to_. Running to save.

Even on the way to Corellia a few hours earlier, in his dead-calm X-Wing cockpit, Luke had sensed that the Force was summoning him to the planet for a fateful occasion. And now, while down, he was frightened to the bones. That storm was looking so unnatural. An eerie carmine-colored light glowed dimly inside the cloud, making it possible to discern its monstrous shape through the rain curtain. It was devouring the mountain like a beast not fed for a thousand years. And he knew. He knew his apprentice was there.

"Thank you, citizen. You will be compensated and your service noted," Luke promised, taking time to look him in the eyes, though he certainly didn't ask for permission to take his speeder bike. The leather-clothed man was baffled by this genuine-sounding pledge, and the swear words that were on the tip of his tongue came out as words of goodwill, "Watch out. This storm's behaving weirdly. Came from Tyrena, landed on Malal and now comes back."

"Thanks," Luke acknowledged as he swooshed down the avenue, quickly leaving the emptied streets of Coronet for the rivers-filled wilderness of Suntir Plains. Though it was dark, this stretch of water-veined lowlands shined like day from incessant lightning, revealing the imposing silhouette of Dregan's Pike that was announcing the Malal Mountains. He tried earlier to approach them by his X-Wing, but merciless air vortices wouldn't let him, so he landed on the eastern outskirts of Coronet City and 'borrowed' the bike. His only chance was in staying below the off-the-charts winds that dominated the flying space, moving in a small fast vehicle with the least possible drag. Wings wouldn't help in this situation.

Thoughts tried to surface in Luke's worried mind. Thoughts like, _Why did he come alone? Why didn't he call me? Surely I would go enjoy some Corellia time with him! What in the universe is this storm and why did it have to come upon the mountain at the precise moment Ben was there?_ But the thoughts stayed in the recesses of his mind. He denied entertaining any of it, whether because he was too focused on getting to the mountain as fast as the physics allowed or because he sensed there was something more to this, something darker – which made him unwilling to unroll the chain of thoughts. All the thoughts gave way to one thought: _I have to get to Ben now_. And all the moments merged into one long moment of getting there.

And it just became even longer. A fierce hurricane-force gust of wind blew the bike off its path, Luke jumping off, while it crashed and exploded half a mile behind him. Instead of landing down on his four like a deft Jedi he was, he found himself tossed around in the air by high-speed winds, caught in some kind of a vortex. The only good he saw in all this was that the vortex was taking him closer, not farther from the mountain. But it wouldn't do much good if he ended up there knocked dead on a rock like a maze-fly.

 _Now or never._ Luke closed his eyes and breathed deeply, lulling himself into Jedi meditation, until being tossed in the whirlwind felt like being swung on a carousel. Suddenly, a very uneasy presence felt eerily close, and Luke found himself fainting, losing all power in the Force. But then a presence of light set itself up between him and this dark presence, and he thought he could hear it saying, "Depart! He will know soon." Luke felt himself regaining strength, even gaining more than he had before. _Now or never!_ He pushed himself against all the air molecules, dust and debris he could find with the Force, and thus freed himself from the wind vortex, finally landing on the ground on his four, like a deft Jedi he was.

Without a pause, he proceeded to run uphill. His pounding steps left stones rolling down for hundreds of meters. He jumped over the rocks, bouncing off the green grass, but so low he surprised himself. Why do the Force jumps not work so well at this crucial moment? He continued without delay, though, determined to spend the last atom of energy in his body to get there.

All of a sudden, the storm began to abate. He stopped running for a moment. He still heard the wind blowing hard some hundred meters behind him and also began to hear it blowing before him, similarly hard but less loud – it was half a mile before him. _The eye of the storm_ , he told himself, trying to ignore the unnatural carmine glow in the clouds above that was so unsettling.

Then Luke saw him from afar. Ben was descending downhill like a whirlwind of its own kind. "Ben!" he yelled as he started sprinting, catching just enough breath to cry a wobbling, "I'm coming!" Tripping on the rock, he pushed himself back up by one hand and continued straight forward. He thought he saw something red in Ben's hand. _No, that's just that eerie carmine glow in the clouds playing games with my eyes_ , thoughts were discussing in his brain almost without him being aware as he darted uphill.

But Ben didn't play games. When Luke finally got to him, he readily fended himself with his red cross-bladed lightsaber, though no one attacked him.

Luke halted his sprint, sending a shower of pebbles before Ben's feet. He was silent. Breathing heavily. Looking at his apprentice. Caught in another moment that seemed like eternity.

Ben was also silent, standing still and holding his blade in a guarded position. Finally, he was the first to speak. "Master, we must not let them get us."

"Who is after you?"

"The Sith!" he responded readily.

Though he sensed a considerable amount of the dark side, Luke honestly couldn't sense the Sith, or any other individual on the mountain, for that matter. Nevertheless, he wouldn't argue about it right now. "Ben, let's get out of here."

"I was getting out of here before you came!" Ben blurted.

"Alright. Let's just continue." Luke was trying to calm down both Ben and himself. He didn't know what sorcery was happening here, and what kind of a mental struggle Ben was obviously going through. But he wanted him out of this place, back in the calm corridors of the Academy, where they will try to sort out what occurred here. Where he would chide him for making a lightsaber without his master's assent.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Ben spat out in angst and, before Luke could think of a diplomatic answer, continued. "You _never_ did. I was trying so hard to impress you. To live up to my family heritage. But whenever I reached out to my true power, instead of commending, you chided me."

"Ben..."

"You know I'm right! I could have been so much more. I wanted to be so much more," he paused and then started a slow pace, looking intently at Luke. "I was afraid before. But now I know it's the only way. The only way if we would beat them. I must reach for my full power," He lifted up his red lightsaber and waved slowly. "Look what I've done. All by myself."

"Impressive." Luke was accommodating before giving a lesson. "But why the red one? Aren't you worried? You know that red crystals are not found in nature. They are synthesized, bled through violence imposed upon them through fire and dark side arts. Often they used to belong to the Jedi murdered by the Sith who took away and corrupted the crystals."

"Nonsense. Once again it is confirmed I can find a better education in independent study. Haven't you heard of the naturally grown red crystals of Dantooine?"

Luke sighed, eager to get off the mountain. "Yes, but they were found in kinrath eggs, and we both know which side of the Force abounds in those creatures."

"Or the crystals of the Qixoni nebula?" The apprentice was unmoved.

"Ben, look around you! You're not in a planetary debris field formed by a supernova," Luke shot back, immediately realizing his tone of voice was to a degree too biting. "I'm sorry."

Ben frowned. "You will soon want to listen to me, master. Our Order is dangerously close to its ultimate end. The passivity of the Jedi tradition, reflected even in the avoidance of synthesizing a lightsaber crystal, will prove its undoing," he paused for a moment. "But you know better, uncle. Hadn't you synthesized a crystal for the first lightsaber you constructed?"

"Yes, before I learned of the places where crystals grow naturally," Luke answered calmly as he scanned for the approaching storm wall. "And it was green, not bled to red as this one," he said, pointing to the blade Ben was holding. "You know what that means. A Sith used the dark side to make it red. I don't know how it ended up here, but if I were you, I wouldn't have anything to do with it."

Ben stomped. "How long before you get it?! Don't you see? How were the 'natural' crystals made? Wasn't it by the fiery geological processes that were all but passive? Your inclination to use power as the last resort will, in the end, leave you stripped of it", he emphatically shouted the last few words as he slashed in half a large passing stinger butterfly. "The Sith wait for it. In fact, they will persuade you to do it yourself. If you do not listen to me now, you will be so deceived that you will lay aside your power willingly."

Luke still couldn't sense a Sith presence. But he clearly sensed some dark presence over the mountain. And this carmine glow continued to send shivers down his spine. "Then let's get out of here right now. And you should throw off that lightsaber _now_ ," he commanded, turned around and prepared to run downhill, expecting his apprentice to follow.

"No," Ben replied in a low voice, standing still.

Luke turned back. He looked at his nephew. Something was different about him. He was always tempestuous – a hereditary gift from both of his parents – yet he also got humor and a kind heart from them. He was warm toward his closest ones, no matter how hard he argued with them at times. But now, he seemed cold. Tempestuousness wasn't tempered by affection. He didn't even seem to care to win his master over to his side of the argument as he so often tried. He was a strange mixture of unrest and dead calm. And it was frightening for Luke to watch it. "Please, leave the lightsaber. It augments the effects of the dark side." Trying to sound encouraging, he said, "You will make another one, a stable and a far better one."

"This one is good enough! As you know, my blade is more powerful than yours, and as you see, the stability is controlled through vent irises."

"Ben, you're not thinking clearly. It affects you. Throw it immediately," Luke urged as the storm wall was getting closer. "Do it now!"

"No. This is the pinnacle of my _own_ power! It marks a new chapter for me," he shouted with a glare.

Luke saw that reasoning won't do it at this time and place. Something was seriously clouding Ben's judgment. He must take him by force and sort it out later. As he stepped toward Ben, not exactly knowing what was he planning to do – nudge him, take him by hand, knock him unconscious? – his apprentice helped him decide. Luke turned his blue lightsaber on, just in time to block Ben's attack blow.

"I have to defend myself, master. Even from you," he said as their lightsabers clashed. "Even though it breaks my heart," he said with a broken voice.

Luke sensed a conflict in Ben's heart as he looked him in the eyes. They seemed hesitant, as if trying to flee. He was just a young lad. His dear nephew. And then Luke got the impression that the light side of the Force was actively trying to win Ben over, acting almost as a distinct personal unit. He didn't quite understand it, but he felt compelled to cooperate. "Ben, my dear nephew," he said with pathos, "you know I love you. You know I would never do anything to harm you. Whatever is troubling you, we can sort it out together. As master and apprentice. As uncle and nephew. As friends. Please, let me help you."

"No!" He pushed away and covered his ears. "Stop that voice! It will take our power away!" He began pacing around as if searching for a place to hide or for a solution. Then he said, " _I_ will save our Order if you won't. I will not let them take our power, even if it would mean expelling the last jot of Jedi philosophy from the Academy."

"What are you talking about, Ben?!" Luke cried out. "There is no Jedi Order without Jedi philosophy!"

"Well, then there won't be a Jedi Order! We'll make up a new name. Whatever it takes for us to _stop being_ _so_ _passive_!" he shouted as he walked around. "We have to stop being afraid to take full hold of our power!" He clenched his fist as he said it, to which several stones around him imploded.

Luke was appalled both by the audacious words and the dark side powers so quickly rising in his apprentice. A sudden rush of ominous feelings crushed his soul.

"Will you help me, master?" Ben was pacing back and forth, fixing Luke with his eyes. The storm wall approached from behind, sending a gust of wind that blew Ben's hair and cloak toward Luke, as if joining the frightening call.

Luke wasn't prepared for any of this. But he was uncompromising. "You don't know what you're talking about! You're giving in to the dark side." He got up. "I'll never join you in that."

"I am doing what has to be done," Ben shouted while thunder rumbled with an almost unbearable intensity. "I am saving the Order. And if you won't help me," he continued with a dark look on his face, "my grandfather will." He paused for a moment, a facial tic preceding the words he was about to shout. "Vader lives!"

Luke's eyes widened in shock as he heard the famous motto that was once being tagged all over the walls of Coronet by the Acolytes of the Beyond. Anger started building up in his chest. He battled it hard as he muttered, "My father ceased to be Vader long ago... Is that the wisdom you gained in your independent study? Ramblings of terrorist fanatics?" The wind became wet with rain.

"You know nothing! And you are so arrogant that you do not even try to consider what I'm saying. When the Sith come for you and cunningly take your power away, you will remember my words with bitter remorse." He looked long into his master's eyes. "I am going to find allies. If you ever reconsider and decide to join me, I will gladly welcome you at my side. But I _will_ save our power, with or without you. May the Force never depart from you." At this word, he turned around and started sprinting downhill, toward Bela Vistal.

Luke was staring after him, heart-broken. Whipping rain hid his figure in an instant. What should he do? Just let him go? Let him be at the mercy of the dark side he came so close to? He could never do such thing. The only hope was knocking him unconscious and let him get to his senses when he wakes up.

Luke began to run. Violently. Seemingly oblivious to the even more violent wind gusts and rain torrents beating on his face. He still couldn't Force jump properly. But love was propelling him down. He saw him. Descending like a whirlwind. Looking so confident and lost at the same time.

Cutting the path short, Luke jumped off a cliff. As he was about to knock his apprentice down, he felt a strong push of the Force hammer him down, followed by a lightsaber blow he blocked at the last moment.

"So you decided to turn against me?" Ben cried out as their lightsabers clashed. "How could you?"

"You got it all wrong, Ben. I'm trying to save you," he tried to use Force push to knock him down, but the Force would not obey him. So he slipped out from below the cross-bladed lightsaber and turned back to knock Ben out by his lightsaber hilt. But Ben blocked the blow, and they started dueling.

Lightsaber and lightning flashes were revealing Luke's aghast face – not due to duel with his nephew, disheartening as it was. No, he was utterly confused about his relationship with the Force. He could still feel the connection with it. Only it wouldn't obey him. It had a will entirely of its own, almost like it was a distinct personal unit. And one that was acting on behalf of Ben and against him. Not neutral at all.

Ben saw something was happening. "You are trying to save me? You can't save _yourself!_ The Sith are taking your power away!"

Their lightsabers were dancing in the dark – red, blue and yellowish white playing reflections on the wet rocks and rain torrents. It was a beautiful art, just like Luke's lightsaber moves. Ben's less so. He was very inexperienced in wielding a lightsaber. He waved hectically, without much precision, yet Luke couldn't outmaneuver him. Every time he would get a clear hilt blow on the neck, some invisible power would redirect his hand.

"You don't need to save me," Ben said, hitting hard Luke's lightsaber and then backing off. "It is you who got it all wrong. I'm trying to save our Order," he paused, "and if you don't want to help, don't stand in the way."

"Ben, I cannot decide for you, but I can tell you this: you've set both feet on a dangerous path. If you continue in it, it will lead you to do such terrible things you would never think possible for you to do."

"No!" Ben uttered in panic as he covered his ears. "That voice again!"

Suddenly, there was a short but violent earthquake – or more like a stupendous punch _upon_ the ground – after which an immense rock some fifty meters above Luke broke off, starting to fall right toward him. He wanted to run, but an invisible force caught his leg, causing him to trip and fall.

It wasn't Ben. He was having a battle of his own, trying to shake off voices, or so he thought. "Who are you? You're not the One! I don't want any voice! Go, all of you!" He was spinning around with one hand on his ear, and the other waving a lightsaber against invisible enemies.

Luke could sense the air becoming hot and thick with some kind of a presence. It was holding him down. He tried to use the Force to steer the rock away, but it still wouldn't obey him. As the rock was about to crush him like a maze-fly, he felt a presence of light moving in between him and the rock, freeing him just in time to roll over. The rock fell beside him, smashing into many big and small chunks. One of them hit him hard in the leg, drawing out a painful groan from him. But it was just one smaller chunk. His life was miraculously spared. He looked over to Ben.

He was kneeling, hands clasped, lightsaber turned off and attached to his belt. When he saw Luke watching him, he got up, his face betraying a mixture of relief, surprise, and confusion. "I didn't do it. It was not my power."

Luke did not understand what was going on, but he knew it was somehow connected to his escape from death just a moment before.

"No. This is insane," Ben said, pacing nervously. "Don't follow me. I don't want any of you to follow me. Go away. Go away!" With these words, Ben turned and ran away, continuing his descent.

As Luke got up to follow him, he immediately fell down, his leg not ready to support him. He sat and looked it up. It wasn't bad, but he needed to put a bandage to stop the bleeding and swelling. He got out one from the slim first-aid pocket in his undershirt and applied it to the injury.

Then he just sat, in complete silence of his thoughts. There was nothing going on in his mind for several minutes. Not even a bewildered, _What did just happen?_ Seeing Ben like that and parting with him was just too painful for any attempt to process it. Shock took hold of Luke's sensitive soul.

At last, he reconnected – with the world at least. He noticed that the storm cloud descended in the same direction Ben went, as if it was his companion. Rain stopped, thunder was not so loud anymore. The wind was still blowing but not violently. It looked as if it continued to blow only to clear up the mess the storm left.

It was so peaceful compared to minutes before. And the retreating clouds revealed that it was not yet night, though it seemed so earlier under the impenetrable storm cell. It still loomed over the area but was not so dark anymore, having emptied itself of the densely packed water. The carmine-colored light was gone. Maybe that glow was the last remnant of daylight coming through those thick clouds.

Suddenly, the setting Corell sun peeked under the clouds, flooding the surrounding mountain peaks with beautiful yellow light and revealing gold beaches in the distance. Sea was looking equally golden under that embellishing light, dark clouds of the abated storm above only highlighting its fairness. As the cloud moved, sunlight reached the ground Luke was sitting on. It caressed his tired face, as if trying to melt his anxious shock away and heal his broken heart. But that was not going to happen anytime soon.

Yes, though beautiful, this moment was so sad. Luke's hope for the future of the Jedi Order descended on his own path. His nephew. His friend. _What would become of him? How far will the dark side lead him? How to tell Leia and Han such horrible news?_ He began reconnecting with his mind.

But there were even more troubling questions looming over his head, such questions that threatened to unsettle the faith in his capability to lead a Jedi Order, even to be a Jedi. And not just that. They threatened to unsettle his very view of reality he held for so long. Never in his whole life did he experience the Force behaving in such a way. So unpredictable, so unbending to his will.

He was more confused than ever in his life. More than when Obi-Wan first taught him about the Force. More than when he landed on Dagobah and trained with Yoda. More than when he learned the truth about his father.

But he knew something.

He got up and looked toward the sunset.

He knew that he was always looking over the horizon, always trying to discern if there was something more to life.

Maybe this is a moment to become a young lad of Tatooine again. The lad that couldn't spend a day without sensing, or at least hoping, that reality was so much bigger.

But that was as much optimism as he could muster. He lowered his head and looked to the side, to the ground where Ben kneeled before descending. Then he looked over to the chunks that were once a huge rock that almost killed him – a Jedi who could not move himself, let alone steer the rock with the Force.

He lifted his head back up and looked one last time towards the setting sun. Then he looked at the mountain path leading off the mountain.

And he began his descent.


	3. An Encounter in the Valley

**A/N**

 **So I finally managed to continue this story. Inspiration wasn't coming since summer, but that ended up being for good, since now it connects better to the characters and their storylines after I watched TLJ. I was really surprised how it all fell into place. I look forward to your feedback. Enjoy!**

* * *

Luke was descending. Painfully. His injured thigh was bandaged and bleeding prevented, but he could feel the internal turmoil of all the swollen, strained and even cut fasciae, tendons, and ligaments. All from one chunk, chopped off from the rock that ought to have killed him.

His life was saved. But it seemed everything else was lost.

He reached for a comlink. Yes, that, too, was lost. Probably dropped off while he was caught in a wind vortex. He grunted as the pain throbbed his thigh for sliding over the scattered pebbles. Such missteps were now painfully punished.

That reminded him why the descent was his least favorite part of hiking. In his youth, he used every opportunity he had to wander over Tatooine's rocky ridges. He always felt there was something purifying and exhilarating in the solitude of conquering higher ground. But he had to admit, Corellia was much fairer.

The view was stretching down the slope covered with pines gently dancing on a wind, and went further over the silky plains whose tall sunlit grass swayed like the hair of a most graceful krahbu. Finally, it ended with the glimmering golden beaches, contrasted with the azure sea whose dark waves were ornamented by platinum linings, interrupted only by the long shadows of Coronet's highest skyscrapers. The air was crystal clear. That is why he could see so many details far away.

But that brought Luke to reality. He must get to the city dozens of kilometers away and he doesn't have a speeder bike anymore. He doesn't even have two healthy legs. Soon, he won't have daylight either. And with its numerous feline predators – razor cats, dire-cats, gurrcats and jaggalors – Corellian wilderness was not the best place for a blood-scented human to spend a night in.

He descended and descended and descended. The mountain seemed infinite. His spirit sank. Lower and lower. The sun has set, and darkness began to stretch over the landscape. He began to hear predators greeting the night's coming. They were far away, but not less chilling for that. With the Force not obeying him anymore, what was there to hope for? His injury was pulsating with increasing pain. He could barely walk, let alone fight. Fully armed Mandalorian war hero Tor Vizsla was eaten by a blood-smelling dire-cat. Will he meet the same destiny? Will this be his end?

After several hours, he made his last steps on the mountain and finally set his foot on the plain. But, far from giving him a sense of accomplishment that hiking usually gives when a speeder is waiting at the foothill, it just reminded him that the largest part of the journey is still before him. He wished he could descend even further, just go down into the black abyss of oblivion. It seemed to him that it would have been better had he never existed in the first place. His whole life seemed like a bad joke the Force had played upon him. He could almost hear it laugh.

Never in his whole life had he felt so helpless and betrayed. No, not even then, hanging from the Cloud City of Bespin, his hand chopped off and his mind aching from the revelation that his father was the arch-villain, while his own Master withheld that truth from him. Back there, he still had the Force. He could call out to his sister with it. But now, the Force was close not to help but to taunt and mock.

As his excruciating steps and ruminations continued, Luke felt he threaded the farthest depths of the valley of despair.

Then a tiny ray of light swiped through his forehead. It was a thought. If the Force does not obey you, it doesn't mean it obeys no one?

Luke halted for a moment to interpret it. Yes. Though I cannot use the Force, someone else could be led by it to come and help me. This was a tiny ray of hope. But it was enough to keep him going.

Then he heard a long growl that sent shivers down his spine. And worse. After it, he heard heavy thumps becoming louder and louder, going his way. Finally, a figure emerged from the bushes. It was not a dire-cat. Or any other feline predator. But that didn't help. It was a razor hound. Its sharp canine teeth almost glittered under the dim turquoise light of the moon Gus Treta. It was not called razor hound without reason.

 _So, this creature is what you have brought to me?_ He was about to utter a cynically thankful farewell to the Force as he anticipated a deadly jump. Instead, he heard a startled cry followed by panicked whimpers as the hound turned and ran away as fast as he could, yelping and sniveling on his way.

Luke turned around to see what horror scared this predator away. And he saw it. Three eerie hooded shadows standing beside him. They looked humanoid. Luke was terrified. If the razor hound could be so scared off by them, he should be petrified.

"Do not fear," an elderly voice spoke, extending a hand. Luke was petrified. Yet something in that voice betrayed a non-malevolent nature. Still, Luke was not moving. Finally, another of the three figures turned on a glow rod, shedding dim golden light onto their faces. "Please, let us help you," he entreated calmly.

What was there to lose, Luke thought. He is on a death row, and it's a matter of hours if not minutes when it will come, whatever predator will administer it. And even if all the ferocious beasts would leave him alone, he would not make it to the city before collapsing from pain and then dying from thirst and hunger. No, there isn't any sense in rejecting this offer of help.

Luke languidly extended his hand, and the man lifted him up, the other two helping to carry him a couple of meters before laying him on the back of some big animal. Whether it was a krahbu, a sharnaff, or a carrion spat, he couldn't tell, because it was so nicely saddled. And Luke found it hard to make himself stay awake. "Good, I would have hated to die so depressed," he half-ranted, eyes closing. Somehow he felt secure, for a first time in this long day, and as he let this feeling soothe him, he soon lost all consciousness.

* * *

There was peace in the Coronet city. The buildings have developed even higher, yet they did not eclipse the sunlight above nor the shining sea below. Their design was blended with the nature to let the light pass through those immense cubic kilometers of transparisteel. The natural environment itself was faultlessly taken care of. Every unsustainable facility was removed centuries ago. The Jedi Temple was installed on the top of the central building. It seemed almost superfluous, as every block of the city could have been considered a Jedi Temple – there were thousands of Jedi on the city streets, terraces and balconies.

The Dark Jedi, the Sith, the Empire, the Knights of Ren, the First Order – all of them were almost forgotten. That's how far back in history they were. Now was a time of the Jedi – and even more than that. Decades passed since they broke the Barrier and shared the gift of the Force with others. Now every person in the galaxy could wield it if they wanted to. The final boundary between the Force-wielders and those who were not was erased. Everyone had the power – here, as well as on every other planet.

The whole galaxy looked like a highly developed paradise. Its worlds and its people were shining. Possibilities were constantly expanding. Yet something was missing. Everything looked beautiful. Everything looked promising. But it felt like a surface shell. Something was hollow about the apparent happiness of the galaxy. There was an abyss in its heart – in every heart. This abyss was not a threat from the Sith or any other dark side entity. It was emptiness. An aching emptiness. And no one could tell what should fill that universal vacuum. A passing Jedi approached Luke, its smiling face about to dissipate under the pull of a terrible void behind the pretending mask, so abysmal that Luke screamed from the bottom of his horrified soul.

That woke him up.

He was breathing heavily. The darkness of the night was impenetrable. All the moons had set. Yet this tenebrous environment felt strangely refreshing after the blinding shine of the hollow galaxy from a paradise-looking nightmare. He was still on the back of an animal. It was trotting evenly in the silence. A moment after, he heard strange verses half-whispered by one of the three men that were riding alongside.

"Indeed the One speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, Then he opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, That he may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol."

The man paused and said, "Rest. You are safe."

Though Luke was not little confused with both the dream and the verses, he was still too feeble to invest his mental powers in reflection. And as before, he intuitively trusted the figures taking care of him. Hoping he would fall into dreamless sleep, he closed his eyes. Comfortable lull soon took him back.

* * *

"You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways."

Those were the words that woke Luke up. They were sung. He looked around. He was laying on a golden beach, calm blue sea before him, majestic mountain slope behind him as the early morning sun was rising over its peaks, lighting the tame-looking clouds from beneath. The view to the right presented a miles-long beach, still devoid of people, while the view to the left was partially blocked by four graceful krahbus drinking water. The song continued.

"You have hedged me behind and before, And laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?"

Luke sat up to look. It was sung by a grey-bearded man standing on the shore, some dozen meters in the front. He was accompanied by a brown-haired man plucking on a Hapan lute and a white-bearded man playing an Ewok reed flute. _Funny bunch._

"If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there your hand shall lead me, And your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall fall on me,' Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to you."

Luke reached for his thigh. It didn't hurt anymore. There was a fresh bandage and it was not soaked in blood. He got up, curious to see those strange men up close. As he came to their side, they suddenly stopped the song.

"We didn't mean to wake you up," the brown man said.

"Excuse our fervor. We are joyous to be on this mission and had to express our thanks in song," the grey man added.

"No, no. Don't worry. I feel good, it was time to wake up," Luke said, inhaling the freshness of the morning air. "What mission?"

"To bring the light to this galaxy, of course," the white man responded in a solemn but cheerful way and then showed him to a stretched blanket some meters away. "Please, let us eat." He pointed to a large plate full of diverse fruits, nuts, and unleavened bread. "We are very glad you are well and rested. But you need nourishment."

All four of them sat down on the blanket. Suddenly, the brown man lifted his hands towards the sky and said, "Our dearest friend and creator, you who are in the highest and reach the lowest, even though our eyes do not see you now, we thank you for the blessed fruit of this planet. May it restore the health of your dear child Luke. Amen," he finished, while the other two repeated that unfamiliar last word. Then all began to eat.

"It is unusual after so many ages of conversing face to face," the brown man said.

"Yes," the grey man agreed, "it brings to remembrance many hard-fought battles."

Luke was listening to the conversation without a clue of what they were talking about.

"Please, let us not exclude brother Luke," the white man said.

"It's alright," Luke said before he took a bite from a fleshy muja fruit.

The brown man looked like he was about to speak. He seemed both excited and restrained. "It has been awhile since we used our old names, but..." he hesitated as he looked over to his friends who calmly gestured that he should just do it. "I am Enoch, son of Jared."

"I am Moses, son of Amram," the white man followed.

"And I am Elijah the Tishbite," the gray man said with a slight bow of his head.

Luke nodded, mouth full of bread. "I like the small dried fruit in it," he said while chewing.

Moses smiled gently. "I like those, too."

Luke stuffed a fist of nuts in his mouth. He was hungry and this fruity meal was unusually satisfying. There were several moments of silence. It was not awkward. It was a shared time of silent enjoyment. Sea was filling the air with a gentle perfume of salty vapor. Sun was peeping in and out of the clouds with its fresh light. The men inhaled the beauty of it all as they ate.

"Thank you for helping me," Luke finally said.

"Thanks be to the One," Moses responded.

"Anyway," Luke began casually, "what did you do to scare the razor hound so terribly?"

"Nothing," Enoch said.

"Hey, your hooded figures were scary in the dark, but I bet that kind of stuff doesn't scare the predators away." He was eating voraciously.

"Indeed it does not," Elijah said.

"Then what was it?" Luke insisted.

"Nothing from our part. We don't know exactly. But the One did something as we trusted in him."

Luke thought for a moment and asked, "Is that the same One you were talking to right now before eating?"

Moses nodded. "He is."

There was a slight expression of disappointment on Luke's face. Those people seemed nice, but this talking to the One thing savored too much of primitive religion. He knew better. Those kinds of notions were superseded by the superior knowledge of the impersonal Force.

Suddenly, Luke's face was darkened with remembrance. He stopped chewing for a moment, finally swallowed and said, "Excuse me." He got up and went hastily several dozen meters away along the shore. He sat down beside the sea, his legs crossed. He reached out. There it was. The Force was right there. But wholly unresponsive to his attempts to wield it.

 _So, it was not a bad dream._

He was devastated. All the events of the day before filled his mind again, and it crushed him so intensely that it seemed he could not stand again. Just a minute ago, he felt as a teacher with superior knowledge. Now he was back to the role of an intimidated pupil on his first day of school. He looked towards the three mysterious men. They were eating in silence. That thought came again. Thought that he has nothing to lose and nowhere to look. They were the ones who saved him. What if the Force has led them to him? He got himself together, walked back and sat beside them. "Alright, I'm ready."

"For what are you ready, son?" Moses asked.

"To understand what is happening. To learn from you."

"We are not aspiring to be your masters – if that is what you think."

"Yes, whatever you say. Just explain to me what's happening."

"No, it is not whatever we say. If you want to learn, the first lesson to learn is that you should set your mind to learn from the One, not from us or any other created being."

"Yes, he is not far from any of us," Enoch added. "Be attentive to his voice."

"And I bet I should clear my mind of all questions," Luke quoted the words of his old master cynically.

"No," Elijah responded, to Luke's surprise. "The One does not require blind submission. He wants to quench our thirst for true knowledge and help us find the right answers to questions that trouble us. But everything in its time," he paused. "Often, the time of waiting for the answer is as important as the answer itself, for through it we become changed and prepared for the answer."

"So I am foolish to expect any answers from you today?" Luke sighed and looked toward the sea, arms around his legs as he sat on the sand.

"No, dear brother," Elijah answered, "you will hear new things today, so many and so mighty that you will almost be unable to bear them. Yet there is much more to come in the times ahead of you."

"Let us arise," Moses said, while his two companions followed, beginning a stroll on the beach with Luke.

Sensing anew the benevolence of the three strangers, Luke began his journey of inquiry. "Who are you?"

The sun was now shining above the clouds, and a light breeze began to ripple the surface of the sea, providing a refreshing balance to the rising temperature. As the three men began to expound their life stories and experiences with the One on their home planet in a galaxy far, far away, Luke was quickly drawn into their world and their realities, apparently so different to his own, yet in a strange way similar.

Luke listened to the turbulent history of their people who often failed to adequately represent the One to whom they owned existence as a nation. Luke listened how, notwithstanding their enmity and wickedness, the One dealt graciously with them and saw the potential for good in them when they seemed darkest. Luke listened how the One repeatedly sent prophets to his stubborn nation in order to turn them from the path of destruction, learning that Enoch, Moses and Elijah were among them. Luke learned that their ascension to the Beyond was exceptional, while normally all rest, awaiting the recollection of their dust on the last day. Luke listened how the prophecies were given to various prophets announcing the coming of the One in human flesh and were fulfilled centuries later. He was astonished to hear how the One left his exalted position and put aside his powers in order to befriend the human race in the most intimate way, yet was rejected and killed by his own creation.

Hours passed by.

Then the three men began to expound the forces that lay behind the antagonistic behavior of the human race toward the One. Luke learned about the most exalted angelic being called the Lightbearer, who stood at the right hand of the One and had the most profound knowledge of his love and goodness. He served as his highest ambassador of light to innumerable worlds. He was like a brother to the One. Yet there came a day when he began to admire himself and grow dissatisfied that he is not the first one. Though no other being except the One – who created all there is – was exalted higher, this was not enough for the Lightbearer. He coveted homage that belonged only to the One who created all there is. Thus was prepared the way for the First Accusation.

A banshee bird shrieked from the distant mountain slopes.

The Lightbearer began his campaign to slight the character of the One. With patient sophistry, he circulated the idea that the One was selfish and that his law of love was a device to enslave the angelic beings and limit their power. But he clothed that accusation with such smooth language and reasoning that it appeared he endeavored to improve the law of the One and the stability of his government. And when the angelic beings, infected by his dissatisfaction, expressed it as their own, he presented that as a proof that changes have to be made, and that he will do it to reconcile the disaffected angelic beings with the One. He presented himself as a liberator and promised true freedom, equality and a higher plane of existence to all who followed him. A third of the angelic beings were deceived through his inception and gave way to self-exaltation and jealousy that began rising in their own hearts; as they were giving up their light, in its absence began to arise its strangely new, empty counterpart – darkness.

Luke was captivated.

He learned how the Lightbearer was given multiple chances to return to his exalted ministry with the One. He saw once again his gracious, selfless and now even forgiving character. He almost fell to his knees in shame for his arrogance and worshipped the One out of spontaneous love. But he fought this impulse. He recalled that he has already successfully deceived a third of angelic beings and flattered himself with the hope that he could indeed succeed in his cause to rise above the One. The Lightbearer departed forever from his post at the right hand of the One and, now known as the Enemy, formed the Inimical Army of angelic beings he deceived. An open war began in the capital of the blissful Beyond. Loyal angelic beings readily stood to defend the honor of the One they knew and loved, and – just recently friends – angelic stars began to war against each other. There were clashes of fiery swords throughout the blissful realm of the Beyond.

A kid ran right in between Luke and the strangers, following his hover-ball, to which the three men smiled gently and continued the story.

Though the One could have vanquished the existence of the Enemy and the whole Inimical Army in an instant exercise of his omnipotent power, such course would not vanquish the lies about his character and his law of love, now broadcast throughout the universe. Swift destruction would have only instilled fear. And the One does not take pleasure in forced obedience but only in the loyalty that springs out of appreciation of His character. Time was needed for the Enemy to reveal his true self and condemn himself by his own actions before the whole universe. Yet the prolonged war was not permitted to disturb the peace of the Beyond, where the feelings of the majority of its citizens were decidedly with the One, notwithstanding troubling questions that arose in their minds since the Accusation. Thus has the One cast all the inimical angelic beings out of the Beyond and gave opportunity to their leader – just recently his closest associate among the created beings, now his arch enemy – to prove that his government without the law of love is a more desirable order.

Tourists and beachgoers began to arrive at the beach, at times interrupting the conversation. But the story continued.

Luke listened how the Enemy roamed the universe, tempting the representatives of myriad planetary governments to join him, but was repeatedly rejected. Finally, he found a planet whose representatives forfeited loyalty to the One in exchange for a promise that they will become like gods. After defection, the planetary government was transferred to the Enemy. His army of ancient inimical spirits descended on the planet and the war against the One that began in the Beyond continued on this planet, bringing decay, suffering, and death to the formerly perfect creation. Luke learned this was a home planet of the three visitors.

More hours passed by as Luke walked by the sea, listening to the stories of his strange deliverers. He was fascinated as he imbibed the vision of another world but was also becoming increasingly annoyed by the noisy tourists and beachgoers who now thronged the sandy golden shore. He proposed to take a repulsor funicular and ascend up the mountain where there are fewer people and more silence. The visitors agreed.

Luke found an available roofless funicular and reached into his pockets to pay for the ride but didn't have any credits. Smiling kindly, Elijah drew out a few credits and gave them to a Besalisk rent seller. Immediately after embarking, the funicular began its long but quick journey up.


	4. The Ascent

**A/N**

 **The following chapter may be the wildest in the whole story. The least action happens here, yet the way SW galaxy (aka GFFA) was** **connected to Earth,** **its existence explained within the framework of Biblical metaphysics and events, blew my mind. Didn't expect that when I began writing it. And Luke must begin to deal with his altered relationship to the Force he has had since the duel on the mountain. Enjoy the read!**

* * *

The view was enlarging rapidly, offering majestic vistas as Luke and the three visitors from another galaxy rode the repulsor funicular. A sigh of contentment and rest escaped Luke's mouth. He felt energized both by the marvelous surrounding nature and by the company of those peaceful strangers. As if all of that was Force-sent. He felt rising back from his valley of despair. After a minute of silent enjoyment, he asked, "Did the One create all this?"

"Yes. And no," Moses said. "It was even more beautiful than this when he created it."

"More beautiful than this?!" Luke said with an incredulous stare. "Impossible."

The visitors smiled good-heartedly.

Then Luke realized. "Wait, who else did create this?"

"Not created in its full sense. Formed, or rather, deformed the existing creation," Moses replied as the funicular reached its destination. They all disembarked onto the tiled path that led further up the mountain and immediately began to walk in it, admiring the enchanting golden-green grass and silvery-purple wild Rominaria flowers. Small low clouds passed quickly over the mountain tops, offering a spectacle of light and shadow. "The planets of this system were even pulled from another place in the galaxy, not without unfavorable consequences. It was done by the ancient inimical spirits," Moses paused, "whom you know as the Celestials or the Architects."

Luke stopped walking. Until now, the visitors' story was fascinating but seemed distant, relevant only to the galaxy far, far away. Now it has come right at his feet. "You can't be serious?"

"We are telling you the truth, brother," Enoch said.

Luke almost expected to hear the injunction to search his feelings, as this seemed like that painful moment in the Cloud City where he learned of his personal origins. And he felt the same conviction he isn't lied to. He sat on the ground. "Why do I keep getting such revelations? They are hard to bear, you know," he complained sheepishly to the visitors.

All three sat beside him. "We know," Enoch responded with an understanding nod, "but it is not more than you can bear. Otherwise, the One would have not sent us to share it."

"Alright." Luke tried to sound unconvinced. "So how did the Celestials, or... the ancient inimical spirits, end up in our galaxy?"

"As I already mentioned while sharing my personal history," Enoch began as Moses and Elijah listened respectfully along with Luke, "my generation was the most wicked generation in our planet's history and, after I was taken up into the Beyond, they continued to advance in their course of evil. Though they were intellectually brilliant and inventive, they used their talents for terrifying purposes, filling the planet with violence, utter injustice and disgusting rituals." His tone of voice was a blend of subdued outrage and remembered pain. "With a heavy heart, the One declared in the Universal Council that all of that wicked generation, except one loyal family, would have to perish. The whole council agreed, feeling it was a rightful and long-due judgment." He paused for several long moments.

The delay caused Luke to look up and observe Enoch's face. It emanated both sorrow and deep thought.

"Though he and everyone else knew it was the only way to save the planet..." he stuttered. "I will never forget the forlorn sadness I saw in the face of the One as he was about to pronounce the judgment." Enoch paused, and for a moment, it seemed as if all the birds stopped chirping. „Yet he was also firm about it, beyond doubt that it was the right thing. Moments of anguish were complemented by moments of resolution to save what can be saved: the blameless judgment was executed." There was almost a relief in Enoch's voice as he concluded this bit of report.

A white banshee bird screeched from afar, to which hosts of small birds resumed their playful chirping in the coniferous forest, some fifty meters below the altitude where Luke and the three men were sitting.

"No other being," Enoch added, "was ever allowed such decisions, because none other gave life itself. And such drastic measures were never required before nor after that generation."

Luke was trying to imagine the corruption of such generation.

"However, when the Enemy learned about the plans of the One, he instantly flew from our planet and barged into the Council auditorium." Enoch frowned slightly as he recalled.

Luke gazed and listened intently as he noticed how personal this history was for Enoch.

"That was before he was banned from the meetings of the Universal Council," Enoch continued. "He expressed his displeasure that the generation he was so prospering would come to an abrupt end. He demanded from the One to let him choose a group among them for a transfer to another galaxy, where they would be given enough time to develop galactic civilization and where he would be permitted to endow them with special supernatural powers," he paused, his eyes fixed upon the Coronet City in the distance.

Luke's mouth opened inadvertently.

"The Enemy argued that the technological advancement, prosperity and special supernatural powers would, in the end, secure peace and order in the galaxy, without the need for the law of love. He dauntingly challenged the One, saying that the refusal of this demand would show to the universe that he is knowingly afraid such government would reveal the deception of the law of love. Looking over millions upon millions of radiant delegates in the vast gleaming auditorium under the dazzling starry skies, he piercingly pronounced to the One, not even bothering to look at him, 'They will forever wonder whether I would succeed in such endeavor.'"

"What arrogance!" Luke said as he began to abhor the boastful character of this Enemy.

"Indeed." Enoch nodded.

"I would have cut off that pretentious deceiver right there," Luke said.

"Many thought the One would indeed do so," Enoch responded, "but the Enemy, formerly the closest associate of the One, knew best his patience and desire for transparency, and that's why he dared to be so bold. Though the One knew that the greatest revelation of his love is yet to come and that it will be enough to convince every intelligent being of his righteousness, he accepted the challenge for the sake of all the citizens of the universe who would have been troubled by this question."

The first vehicle they saw today swooshed over the slopes several hundred meters below, quickly descending to the sea surface and continuing to speed toward the city.

Enoch added, "This was before our fallen home planet reached a high level of technological prosperity and wide-spread practice of spirit-contacting, after which the most horrible century of war ensued, clearly demonstrating that it cannot produce peace and order." He turned his gaze to the left, basking in the view of a grand flower-filled mountain pass graced by a paved path leading upward. "Thus the One agreed."

Following Enoch, Luke also turned to look at the mountainous beauty.

Enoch observed an ugly rogue gluttonbug that landed on a beautiful indigo and yellow flower several meters away. „The only condition was that it had to happen in an unfathomably distant past, before the creation of intelligent beings in the universe, even before the creation of any other galaxy, so that it would not disturb their peace. The Enemy agreed. He chose six hundred threescore and six of his most loyal and most intelligent subjects. They were models of vicious brilliance," Enoch paused as he appeared to search for words. "As I was continually walking with the One and then taken into the Beyond to live with him, so were they continually walking with the Enemy and then taken into the new galaxy to live with him."

Luke listened with undivided attention. Moses and Elijah gazed in the distance, reflecting.

"And so, without knowledge of any humans on our planet," Enoch said, "the One by a miracle transferred the Enemy with his army of inimical spirits and six hundred threescore and six most vicious humans back in time to a galaxy far, far away," he paused and turned to Luke, "your galaxy."

With eyes that were widened by intense reflection, Luke looked down at the flowery ground he was sitting by. The rogue gluttonbug was buzzing annoyingly in the distance, echoing a slight irritation that began to rise inside.

"The One created all the nature and animals," Moses spoke up, "but he left the diffusing of intelligent beings throughout the galaxy to the wicked group who arrived. In addition, the Celestials, that is, the inimical spirits, tampered with much of the natural environment, animals and humans in this galaxy, terraforming, bioengineering, bringing many new, horrible beasts and species into existence. The Rakata were one of them, and..."

„Here is another devastating discovery of my origins", Luke interrupted, sighing in frustration. „So, all of us humans in this galaxy came from that wicked group from your planet?"

"Yes," Moses replied calmly, compassion gracing his eyes, "but the One and his unfallen spirits were not banished from this galaxy. He was still the Creator of its original nature and the one who enabled the transfer."

Luke looked away, face tightening.

Moses continued, "That gave him the right to counteract the evil by influencing the consciences of galactic settlers. Though many generations passed before it happened, the One began to win over the hearts of some of your ancestors. He had pity on them and wanted to save as many as possible."

Luke stood up. "Well, it would have been much easier if he never let the evil come to this galaxy in the first place!" he said. "It was easy for your planet! After just a few generations, the whole army of evil spirits departed to our galaxy and you had to battle only against your human frailties."

"No," Enoch replied, "the long history of your galaxy was less than a blink of an eye to our world's history. After your history ended, the Enemy and his spirits were transported back to the exact moment when they were taken, and continued to influence the wicked generation until the judgment ensued as decreed."

Luke sat back down, thinking for a few moments. Rogue gluttonbug still buzzed in the distance. "But how did that help anyone? The universe didn't have a look at what happened in our galaxy," he questioned.

"Do not forget that the One had the right to transfer the unfallen spirits, too," Enoch said. "They were cooperating with him in winning over the hearts of the galactic settlers, but they were also witnesses of all that happened. Moreover, all the unfallen planets of the universe sent representatives who were willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of their peaceful years to serve as record keepers in your galaxy. They suffered long watching horrible proportions of evil in this galaxy. The One awarded them with special honors and privileges when they returned to give their report."

"But tell me one thing," Luke said, "how can the Enemy and their spirits be so short-sighted as to inspire the hearts of the people in our galaxy with hatred, aggression and everything else that doesn't help bring peace and order to the galaxy, which their supposed goal?"

"That is the point, my friend," Moses replied, "they can inspire deceptive behavior that looks good on the surface, but they cannot inspire even one good motive."

The gluttonbug halted its buzzing, covertly devouring the flower's pistil, as if aware that it is not so imposing while separated from its swarm.

"The heart of a fallen man," Moses continued, "is beyond cure, and his only help is in receiving a new heart, which can be done only by the One who created it in the first place. Since the inimical spirits cannot inspire anything truly good, much less create a new heart, the people under their influence are left at the mercy of their evil passions that produce jealousy, impurity, hatred, aggression, and strife."

The gluttonbug suddenly took off, buzzing frantically from one flower to the other, eventually flying away down the slope.

"The inimical spirits have the unenviable task of making wicked people appear righteous, and producing peace and order in a galaxy where unrest and chaos rule the heart of its citizens," he paused as Luke was absorbing it. „By their very nature, the settlers of the galaxy desire power and satisfaction of their whims; not peace and order."

"And so they tried to enforce peace and order in the galaxy through fear," Luke said, recalling the Empire and its dreaded 'peacemaking' device – the Death Star.

"Yes," Elijah joined in, after a long period of being lost in thought. "However, not all were like that, my friend. Since the first generation of those who began listening to the voice of the One in their conscience, he has always had a people with different hearts – hearts under the influence of his regenerating power. The Jedi were among them," he paused.

Luke's attention was at the highest now, his eyes growing wide with keen interest.

"Yet working with the Jedi was always a special challenge," he paused. "By the very nature of their service, they were training abilities unnatural to their being – the ones which belonged to the angelic order of beings. Throughout their history..." He sighed slowly and quietly. "They have been seeking the supernatural powers which the Enemy requested to," he paused, "especially bestow on the settlers of this galaxy."

"No! That's impossible!" Luke stood up again.

"The hearts of the Jedi were places of the greatest conflict in your galaxy," Elijah said unflinchingly, though with compassion in his voice.

"No!" Luke yelled in denial, backing away. Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. "Wait," he half-whispered and then said in a much louder tone, "if this galaxy is in an unfathomably distant past – before the creation of intelligent beings and any other galaxy – your planet doesn't even exist yet, nor do you!" He was growing doubtful of the whole story and the authenticity of these visitors.

"We have been transferred from the future, from the end times of our planet's history to your time, just like the ancient spirits and the group of wicked humans were taken from the early history of our planet," Enoch calmly explained.

"Of course, very convenient. There were two transfers – one for the wicked ones and one for you good guys. Too bad I can never verify that," Luke quipped.

"But you can verify that the Force does not obey you anymore, can you not?" Elijah asked quietly but .

Luke gulped, an intense emotional reaction sending a feeling of weakness throughout his body. He sat down and was silent for a few moments. "I... I can still feel the Force," he stammered, his heart racing.

"But you cannot control it," Elijah said.

"I once could," he began to raise his voice again, "and Ben still can – and has immense power in it!"

"You should be relieved by your loss of connection with that power," Elijah said firmly. "And you should be scared by the immense power that is with your apprentice." He looked toward the distant mount where they had met Ben.

"But isn't it that all life creates the Force?" Luke was not giving up.

"Even if it was so," Moses responded, "what creates life?"

Luke's vision of the universe began to expand. He could begin to discern the two foundational categories in the universe – the created, and the creator. He began to see the necessity of an uncreated creator. But that was so different from everything he has been taught so far.

As if responding to his thoughts, Elijah said, "You must unlearn what you have learned."

This familiar phrase incited another question. "Why did old Ben and Yoda not teach me those things?"

"They were not ready. They were too long in the Jedi tradition to accept new light," Elijah answered. "You and your nephew belong to the generation of the Jedi who could finally bring about the reformation."

Suddenly, Moses pronounced, almost in a solemn way, "We hoped that you would be as Caleb – the last of the old generation – who will finally enter Canaan, while Ben would be as Ezra – the first of the new generation – who will teach that generation the law of love."

Luke was confused. "Why do you mention Caleb Dume, that is, Kanan Jarrus, and Ezra Bridger? Those names are not widely known."

Moses was also confused for a moment, "I do not know those names. Caleb and Ezra were heroes of faith among our people, and Canaan was most known as a name of the Promised Land," he paused. Then he realized, "Yes... you see, our galaxies are more connected than you believe."

"In fact," Enoch said to Luke, "one of the four men who wrote a report on the mortal life of the One bore your name."

"And there are ducks on Naboo," Elijah added with his distinctive benevolent wit.

All four laughed innocently and then just sat in silence, interrupted by an amazingly loud scream of a banshee bird flying several kilometers away. "We have not walked far away from the funicular, have we?" Elijah said, smiling, and stood up. "Let us at least go to the closest viewpoint over there." The group began the short hike.


	5. The View

**A/N**

 **This chapter goes deeper into the galactic history and deals with the "alternatives to fighting", offering bewildering new vistas to Luke on how to stand against evil. Yet they are not completely disconnected with the lessons he gained in his life as a Jedi. Special surprises for the fans of _Rogue One_. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

The surrounding pinnacles, covered with golden-green grass and silvery-purple flowers, gleamed and scintillated under the play of light and shadow as the clouds passed with swift solemnity just a few dozen meters above. It was a breathtaking sight. The palatial mountain pass echoed with rhythmic breathing coming from Luke and the three men as they hiked briskly but with ease, since they walked on a stone-paved path made for convenience in the midst of wild beauty.

"A song of ascents?" Moses asked his hiking friends with a twinkle in his eye.

"Shall we?" Elijah and Enoch responded, to which they all smiled and began singing.

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the One, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over his people will neither slumber nor sleep. The One watches over you—the One is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The One will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the One will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

The song was short but sweet. Luke liked the melodies, the harmony, and the blend of firmness and grace with which the men sang. It was like no other music he had heard. The lyrics sounded reassuring. He only wished he could fully believe it – that someone benevolent is watching over him. A swarm of unfamiliar crimson-winged birds passed over their heads, whistling and chirping happily. They reminded him of Artoo. The atmosphere was lighter. Elijah's humorous mention of the ducks while they were sitting near the funicular brought a welcome relief to a series of hard revelations. He heartily laughed at it. For a time, cheerfulness seemed to have replaced gravity. But his mind wasn't at rest.

"I just cannot fathom," Luke finally spoke, "that old Ben and Yoda were cooperating with the forces of evil."

"They have not," Moses answered quickly as they hiked.

Luke looked at him confused. "Well, didn't you just say that the Jedi were using powers bestowed by the ancient inimical spirits?"

"Yes, they did. And they did not."

"Oh, you remind me of Yoda," Luke moaned.

"Since the Jedi were striving for the principles of unselfishness and in that cooperating with the One," Moses said, "he had a right to intervene, lending them his power while they thought they were using their own power to control the Force. He thus prevented their continual connection with the forces of evil."

"Well, where is the problem then?!" Luke asked, encouraged.

"Think, son," Moses said.

Luke was thinking for a few moments as he walked the path, enjoying a light breeze, and then realized, "That's deception."

"Indeed. Not with a real desire to deceive, but still, not a true representation of reality. It could be justified only as an interim intervention before the Jedi are presented with the real truth." Moses looked into Luke's eyes as they hiked together. „You don't know how hard it was for the One to negotiate that last intervention in the wind vortex where you were caught in and saved by exercising Force Push."

"Yes," Luke recalled, "I did feel and hear something strange there. At first, when reaching out to the Force, I felt a dark presence eerily close by and I lost all power. But then a presence of light came to my side and it was as if it spoke."

"What words did you hear?" Enoch asked from behind, intrigued.

"Depart. He will know soon," Luke replied, "that is what I heard."

"And that is what is happening right now," Moses said. "The One is fulfilling the promise that you will know soon the true nature of the Force. Back there, when you were reaching out to use the Force, the One was contending with the Enemy to let you for the last time use the power of the One, thinking it is yours. The only alternative was to let you fall and die... or let you use the power of the Enemy, which almost happened and would have resulted in your captivity to his will."

Luke shivered under those revelations.

"Yes," Enoch said, "the end of this galaxy's history is coming quickly. Knowing he has little time left, the Enemy demands of the One to withdraw his power from the Jedi or, if they want to continue exercising supernatural powers, turn them over to him."

Luke began to face the reality. In the end, hasn't he already experienced it himself? He began to be thankful for losing connection with the Force. Or rather, with the inimical spirits. Yet he was fearful. How will he fight against the dark side now that he lost his Force powers?

"What should I do now? Should I fight only with my lightsaber?" Luke asked, breathing heavily as the path was becoming steeper. Answers immediately came to him in the form of more questions. "But what is a lightsaber fight without using the Force? And will the lightsaber function in the first place, since the kyber crystals are dependent on the Force?" A new wave of despondency began to settle into his heart.

"My friend, there are alternatives to fighting," Elijah came from behind and put an arm around Luke's shoulders as they continued ascending. "When people choose to solve problems with fighting, their own heads are often the first ones they cut off."

Luke was comforted by those words, as they connected to some previous lessons he gained from old Ben and Yoda. Maybe the teachings of the One weren't so far removed from theirs. "So you knew old Ben and Yoda," Luke concluded. "I see you like to quote them."

"Brother, we are just saying what the One impresses us to say," Elijah replied. "The One revealed only the most important points of your galactic and family history to us. We do not know all the details."

As they followed the winding path, a narrow entrance to the viewpoint was revealed.

"And we have just arrived to your galaxy," Moses added. "We never met old Ben and Yoda."

Getting closer and closer, they could discern a color different from the surrounding verdure. Sunlight seemed to radiate from the ground, reflected in a pale golden hue.

"I understand. But you could still meet them. They will surely appear to good guys like you," Luke said without much thought as they finally reached the viewpoint on the mount. A large viewing platform was cut out of the sand-colored rock, elsewhere hidden beneath the thick layer of fertile soil teeming with verdure and flowers.

The view was spectacular. The cliff was so steep that the sea seemed almost directly below the spot, only thousands of feet deeper. The eastern Gold Beach was now to the left, while rocky cliffs were underneath. Sparkling noon seas were even more enthralling from up here. And the peculiar acoustics of the mountain slopes made distant crashing waves sound much closer. They mingled with the howling of wind that rushed upward through the mountain passes. An exquisite waterfall, issuing from the top of the flower-filled mount above and behind them, provided a soothing counterpart. It cascaded gracefully all the way to the back of the viewing platform, disappearing beneath the ground only to reappear as a stream several hundreds of meters below, gently flowing down the slope to the southwest. Yes, this waterfall was a fountain of the stream that supplied much of the Riverlands. It was amazing that such a humble and unintimidating source could produce so many large rivers.

Finally, Elijah said, "I am sorry to interrupt our silent enjoyment of this natural grandeur, but think about that again, my friend," he paused. "About us meeting old Ben and Yoda."

Luke was at a loss for a few moments, still basking in his first encounter with the enchanting view from this mount. „Meeting old Ben and Yoda," he mumbled to himself as he gazed. Then a sudden realization stroke him. He gasped and looked at Elijah with an alarmed expression. "Oh no. The Force ghosts."

"Yes," Elijah replied, „and remember why us three, and not some other persons, are here."

Luke covered his mouth with a hand, disturbed as the ugly reality dawned upon him. He finally said, „So, after old Ben died, I wasn't really talking to him?"

The silence of the prophets, mingled with expressions of sympathy on their faces, was a sufficient answer.

"I've always wondered about that conversation with Obi-Wan's ghost on Dagobah," Luke said with an absent look. "If he was so wise and one with the Force, why did he not share my conviction that there was still good in my father? He insisted that he's more machine than man, and that I must kill him. He didn't see any other possibility."

"Now you know what kind of spirit has told you that." Enoch sighed slowly, appearing to remember something. "Yoda should have proclaimed of the dead Qui-Gon's voice the same he proclaimed of the Darth Bane's spirit – an illusion – and the error would have been prevented."

"That is so unfair." Luke felt disheartened. "Why does the Enemy have such freedom to deceive?"

"He is free to deceive only those who choose his principles," Enoch paused. "But in this galaxy, it was part of the deal to endow special supernatural powers to its settlers."

"It was a bad deal," Luke snapped.

"But the One has not let one sincere person pass to the control of the Enemy. You see on your own example to which lengths he goes to save," Moses said. "Without his unflinching devotion, you would have been destroyed."

"So the alternative to fighting – becoming a Force ghost – is a no go." Luke continued in his disheartened tone.

"Yes, but there is another, much more powerful alternative to fighting," Elijah said.

Luke was more than ready for a good news. "I hope you're right."

"Prayer," Elijah said with hope in his voice.

"Prayer?" Luke was doubtful. "Isn't that just a word from times past now used only in phrases like, 'Pray the weather is good,' or 'Pray I don't alter the deal any further?'"

"Far from it," Enoch said. "Some of the most important events in your galaxy were the result of prayer."

"How is that possible if no one in this galaxy believes in the One?"

"Remember," Moses answered, "for thousands of generations in this galaxy, there was always a minority which listened to his voice. On our planet, not all who call upon the name of the One are his followers. At the same time, many who outwardly worship someone else, follow the voice of the One. It is the same in your galaxy."

"We heard how a man named Chirrut Imwe," Elijah said, "was a mighty man of prayer in your galaxy, one who walked by faith instead of by sight. True, he used non-conversational repetitive prayers which showed he believed he was connecting to an impersonal Force, but his heart was sincere and sensitive to the voice of the One. He was a guardian of his will. Since he didn't have the chance to learn the entire truth, his reliance on the higher power out of a pure heart was awarded with mighty interventions by the One. Without him, the Death Star plans would not have been retrieved, and today, the galaxy would lie in utter darkness, without hope."

"There was another crucial prayer," Enoch added, "in that great endeavor to free the galaxy from tyranny. Rogue One would not have passed through the Shield Gate had Jyn Erso not sent a silent prayer for the entrance codes to be accepted. Yes, she believed she was asking the help of the Force but she too didn't have the chance to know the entire truth, and the One heard her prayer which came out of a pure heart."

"When the One calls them back on the day of the recollection of their dust and life," Elijah said with admiration, "they will have their place in the Beyond." He thought for a moment and said, "In your galaxy, just as on our planet, the One was always treated as an undesirable rogue, rejected by the majority of its settlers. In a galaxy of evil, the One must be a lonesome rebel." A smile of victory graced his face. "Yet a small band that followed his voice was enough for the One to accomplish mighty things, as on our planet, so in your galaxy."

Luke was unsure. "But they didn't just pray. They also fought – something Obi-Wan and you said had alternatives."

"Our people fought too," Moses answered. "The One operated within our limited understandings. It took us a long time to learn alternatives." He let out a chagrined sigh. "There were many misconceptions... Men treated women with disrespect. When the One came as a human, countered the women-demeaning customs and after his victory delegated the first missions to them, he was the first in centuries who pointed to their original position. So," he said, returning to the topic, "the early followers of the Way – of the One after he completed his mortal life and rose again – lived in an Empire very similar to your former Galactic Empire. Yet they did not fight it."

Enoch picked up the story. "They fully embraced the non-violent ways of the One and were mighty men of prayers. As a result, troopers, officers, and even the Imperial guards were often being converted to the Way. Of course, many of them were executed for it. But the more the Emperor tightened his grip, the more of his subjects slipped through his fingers. Throughout the Empire, people were being converted to the One in great numbers, despite the dangers it brought. All without using violence."

"Prayer was their only weapon," Elijah added, leaning on the enclosure of the viewing platform, his eyes observing the distant seas. „The hardest battles are won away from the eyes of the people, on your knees with the One."

"In the end," Moses continued the history, "the Emperor had to change tactics. He announced that he had also converted and he proclaimed their religion an official religion of the Empire. That was the beginning of a long age of deception in which only the persecuted Church in the Wilderness kept the true knowledge of the One. The official Church was ruled by... let us say, a succession of figures very similar to Palpatine. We had our version of Order 66," Moses halted. "But this is a story for another time." He glanced at Elijah.

"The most recent prayer," Elijah turned his eyes from the sea and fixed them on Luke, "was very close to you," he paused. "It was Ben."

Luke's eyes widened, not so much in surprise as in amazement that it really was what he thought it was – his nephew somehow helping him escape death.

"You would not be alive now if he hadn't prayed for you," Elijah vocalized Luke's feelings.

Overwhelmed by emotions, Luke sat on a nearby stone bench. After a minute of silence, he mumbled, "That is what it was. When he knelt with his hands clasped." He held his forehead in his palm, feeling his heart tighten. A tear escaped his eye. "Why did he do it?"

"He still has affection for you as your apprentice and nephew."

"No, why did he walk away after that?" Luke asked out of a broken heart.

Letting out a regretful sigh, Elijah answered, "He was afraid of the power he cannot control. The One inspired him to pray for you when the forces of darkness sought to end your existence, and his heart was soft enough to respond to his voice. But when he saw that it was solely the One who exercised power in saving you, without any of his own help, he became afraid. He didn't want to lose control."

"After speaking with us," Moses added, "he became uneasy about the inimical spirits too and now seeks to deceive himself that he _is_ in charge while using their power. He told himself that we are the Sith, and that the Force is still impersonal. His heart is in great conflict."

Luke stood up and leaned on the enclosure of the platform. "What should I do?"

Elijah watched him with empathy. "I understand your feelings, brother," he paused, looking toward the city of Coronet in the distance. "I watched my people with its corrupted king go after abominable false gods devised by inimical spirits. I was often praying zealously, from the mountain I was living on, that the One would visit them, even with disasters if needed, to lead them back to the way of love and save their lives. Then I would lift up my eyes and see the degrading rituals taking place in the groves. It seemed hopeless. My heart ached beyond measure for them. But I persisted in prayer," he paused, looking into Luke's eyes with persuading confidence, "and it was answered mightily. The One will strive for Ben's heart much longer than you think."

Luke was comforted by these words of hope.

"Luke," Elijah said, "do not let the Enemy present Ben to you in a darker light than he really is at this time and tempt you to act rashly."

"And never," Moses added, "never try to eliminate his darkness in your own wisdom. That could have disastrous consequences which would further affirm him in his darkness. Remember how the One dealt with the Lightbearer. If he had slain him the moment he expressed his darkness, the universe would have been a much darker place today, with many more followers of evil and many more doubts among the followers of the One," he paused. "Pray, rely on, and follow only the plans of the One. He has an infinitely larger view of the events than we have."


	6. The Well

**A/N**

 **In this chapter, the conversations go further into the history and the nature of the galaxy, the Jedi and the Force. Expect several revisits of the famous saga moments – in meditative conversation, of course – with some deep and possibly heart-warming philosophical and spiritual reevaluations. Enjoy the read!  
**

* * *

Luke watched toward the horizon where the distant brilliance of the snowy sun-bathed Thaos Mountains competed with that of the sea and the golden beaches. The soothing sound of the waterfall, mingled with that of the distant crashing waves and the howling mountain wind, seemed to transport his mind and heart toward the mysterious that lies beyond the horizon. "How is the Beyond like?" he asked his companions.

"Oh, my brother," Enoch replied with a glimmer of blissful experience over his face, "the eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which the One has prepared for them that love him."

"Despite far-reaching corruption, people in this galaxy have used their One-given talents to bring much beauty into it," Elijah added. "And despite being stained by the workings of invisible inimical legions, the nature created by the One still reflects an invigorating measure of its original charms," he paused, smiling as his eyes brightened with awe. "Yet the most beautiful places of this galaxy are only a bland, pale imitation of the wonders of the Beyond."

"One of the reasons why the Enemy asked for this galaxy", Moses picked up, "is because his heart was homesick for the Beyond, and a vastness of untainted galaxy could give some sense of the paradise he lost. When he came here and saw the perfection of a newly created galaxy, it soothed him. But moments after, it only awakened his anger for being cast out of the Beyond. Full of hatred, he immediately began working out his plan against the One."

"He even hoped for a time," Elijah said with disgust in his tone, "that he could build a massive galactic army with which he could ascend to the throne of the One and wipe him out of existence before he created anything else," he paused in unbelief, as if he heard it for the first time. "He bioengineered a species which he used as a slave race, bound by the darkness of the inimical spirits to build gigantic spaceships and weapons powered by the supernatural dark power itself."

"Infinite Empire of the Rakata," Luke said thoughtfully. "I heard about such things. The stories tell of a space station called the Star Forge, which was powered both by dark powers and the sun. It would loom over a system for several days, until it extinguished its star. The undeveloped peoples of the system planets, ignorant of what was happening, were thus led to a brink of death. Then the Rakata came, presenting themselves as their saviors and gods. They hauled them onto their massive slave ships where those peoples worshipped them and did every despicable thing they were bid to do. It sounded too horrible to be true."

"It is true, my brother," Elijah said with a breaking voice. "This galaxy has seen immense suffering. That is why the One never planned for our defected world to grow beyond itself. He will end its history before the disease of sin could be spread further."

"But why did he permit such things in our galaxy?" Luke frowned.

"You know the story," Enoch said, "he permitted the Enemy to use some of my wicked generation for his twisted show. Though it pained the One, those were utterly corrupted people who chose the Enemy with their whole hearts. They were beyond redemption. Yet, as soon as the new generation was born, the One began to strive with their consciences. They rejected him, and this continued for many generations. That is why the early history of your galaxy belongs to the darkest chapters this universe has ever seen," he paused, sitting quietly.

Luke turned to look at Enoch, witnessing a solemn grief on his face. Moses and Elijah stared toward the horizon with somber expressions on their faces.

Elijah said in a low voice, „We did not just see or hear the history bits that were shown to us. We felt it," he said, choking out the words. „The unfallen angelic spirits, the loyal ones... Their way to preserve history also preserves their feelings of what they saw. And they are unimaginably emphatic beings," he faltered. "They felt a lot."

All were silent for a long, sullen minute.

„In spite of the horrible early history," Enoch regained his voice, „as soon as the first settler responded to the voice of the One, he began working mightily to counteract the evil in this galaxy. Any listening to the voice of the One can be understood as a vote for him in an invisible democracy."

Luke was glad the gloomy episode was coming to an end.

"This first adherence to the voice of the One in this galaxy," Enoch said with pride, "brought great dishonor to the Enemy. His whole effort was despised by the unfallen spirits of the Beyond and the record keepers of the unfallen planets. Yet the Enemy maintained that he will conquer all the hearts of the galaxy and implement peace and order without the law of love."

"Instead," Elijah said, "the One began winning thousands of hearts. Some of them founded the Je'daii Order, which grew to became the Jedi Order."

Luke's eyes were widened in surprise.

"You have heard the story that the Sith Order was founded by the rogue Jedi," Enoch paused. "The truth is inverse. The Jedi Order was founded by the rogue Sith who began listening to the voice of the One," he said with delight in his voice. "Still, it was so natural for them to use the Force powers that they couldn't even begin to imagine the world without this daily wielding of the supernatural powers. But, since their heart motives have become purified through listening to the voice of the One, he acquired the right to lend them his own power when they thought they were using their own abilities to control the Force."

"Yes," Moses picked up, "They did sense some danger, but instead of concluding that they should detach themselves from power-wielding, they felt that the danger came from attachment to persons and they prohibited marriage, which caused so much anxiety and confusion in the lives of the innumerable Jedi throughout history," he paused. "But, in spite of their shortcomings, the Jedi were, unbeknownst to themselves, some of the strongest followers of the voice of the One."

Listening to the last sentence, Luke felt as if a huge burden was being lifted off his heart.

"The Enemy began to hate the Jedi most of all the people in the galaxy," Enoch continued. "He constantly devised ways to overthrow them or entice them to join the dark side. Since using angelic powers is not natural for humans or any other planet-dwellers, they were often an easy prey to the inimical spirits who whispered to them and seduced them to seek even more power for themselves."

That sentence checked Luke's rising spirit. Though they were not the bad guys themselves, it seemed the Jedi still walked too close to the risky, inimical channels.

"Yet for thousands of years," Enoch said with an exuberant voice, "it seemed that the One got the upper hand – and peace and order, though not universal in the galaxy, reigned in great measure due to the influence of the One on the Jedi and the Old Republic."

"It seemed almost," Elijah said, "as if the law of love was being vindicated, while the cause of the Enemy, for which he came in here, seemed to rapidly lose credibility. It even led some in the Inimical Army to openly express disapproval of the Enemy and suggest finding a new leader amongst themselves to return immediately to our planet, where they hoped to achieve more success due to their overwhelming numbers. In their blindness, they forgot that the One was infinitely more powerful than their entire army."

"The Enemy pointed out their folly," Moses picked up the story, "and presented anew that their best chance is here, where – thanks to his inimical majesty – they have a permission to prosper their cause on a galactic scale. He denounced the slightest idea of willfully returning to one miserable, claustrophobic planet," he paused. "The critics were dealt with most harshly. They were demoted to the lowest level and given the least interesting tasks which, in addition, they had to perform without any of their own creativity. They were fully bound to the will of their superiors, who enjoyed to play with them in the cruelest ways."

"If you wonder," Elijah added, "how the Inimical Army operates, history of the Sith is an accurate, though pale illustration. They must work together for their common dark cause, yet they loathe each other and constantly seek ways how to rise above one another," he paused. "All of that is a continual reproduction of the primordial desire for supremacy that the Enemy originated in the Beyond when he coveted the position of the One."

Luke thought back to the story of the Lightbearer's fall.

"The Enemy announced that the most brilliant part of his plan is yet to come," Enoch continued the story, "and, after expounding it, won the confidence of his army back. Little by little, he began to instill arrogance among the Jedi, which limited the right of the One to lend them his power. After centuries of growing complacency, the Jedi were shadowed by a great blindness for the workings of the followers of the dark side."

"With painstaking patience," Moses picked up, "the Enemy set the final stage for the overthrowing of the Jedi through his most faithful servant, Dark Lord Sidious, who in front of the noses of the Jedi plotted their destruction. And Anakin..." He sighed.

"Anakin," Elijah repeated the name, "the most tragic character in the whole plot." He looked at Luke with a pained expression, "Your father was so gullible. A deadly brew of good intentions and arrogance," he paused. "There is a proverb on our planet that says, 'The road to hell is paved by good intentions.' Though hell, in fact, does not exist, if ever that saying was true, it was for your father."

Luke sighed heavily, his posture bent as he recalled the familiar story.

"Good intentions," Elijah continued, "are never enough if not guided by the spirit of the One. With the same heinous distrust he originated in the Beyond, the Enemy inspired your father's distrust towards the Jedi," he paused, wincing. "Yet, with every day, there was more reason to doubt the Jedi and the Senate, as arrogance, corruption, and lack of empathy began to prevail throughout the Republic. The terrible mistake of the Jedi Council towards Ahsoka lent additional fuel to your father's doubts." He sighed. "The Enemy was pulling the strings with devilish brilliance."

"He was." Luke was looking downward.

"If only your father was equally distrustful of himself," Elijah said, "but his distrust towards the Jedi was proportionate to his self-confidence and ambition. He thought he could solve all the problems by himself. And this self-centered benevolence, coupled with selfish consideration of only his own destiny – which he believed was to become very unhappy with the loss of the person he loved most – led him to blindly trust the greatest enemy of the Jedi."

"Well, isn't this proof that love ought to be banished from the heart of a Jedi?" Luke asked.

"To the contrary," Moses responded. "If one Jedi institution should be blamed for the fall of Anakin, it would be the unnatural institution of celibacy."

In shock, Luke turned to see the reactions of Elijah and Enoch. They nodded in agreement with Moses, smiling almost mischievously.

"Yes, Luke," Moses continued, "the secrecy of your parents' marriage contributed immensely to the distrust and growing distance between your father and the Jedi Council. And the closer association with and trust toward them could have made the difference that would have saved your father from the fall."

"Well, Palpatine would still have sent the visions of Padme's death. Therefore, only detachment from any love would have saved him," Luke countered.

"If he had been closer to the Jedi Masters," Moses insisted, "he could have discerned by their help that the visions were a plot coming from a Sith Lord," he paused. "The love-driven attachment was not his downfall. It was the selfishness which he mixed with it."

Luke turned away slowly, his eyes wide with reevaluation.

"Say, my brother," Elijah began his question to Luke, "has detachment saved you in the Emperor's throne room?" he paused. "Was it not the love of your father that saved you?"

Luke clutched at his chest as his heart began racing.

"Look back to the history of your father and say... when was he most detached?"

It was not a difficult question. But the revelations were overwhelming. "When he..." Luke stuttered as he turned back. "As... as Darth Vader." He looked into Elijah's eyes as a young child seeking solace.

"That is the truth," Elijah said gently. "In that dreadful period of his life, he was utterly detached, willfully devoid of any love and compassion." He gazed significantly into Luke's eyes. "And it was your _attachment_ to him as your father that awakened the same in him; it was your affectionate belief in him that reminded him how he used to care, your persistent acceptance that showed him it was not too late for him," he paused.

Tears began rolling down Luke's cheeks as he realized he was fighting against what mattered most in the galaxy, what mattered most to his father.

"Love is what saved him, Luke," Elijah said as he affectionately embraced the shoulders of the most beloved Jedi. "Not force. You showed that yourself when you refused to fight him."

Luke was sobbing quietly, the feelings of regret and relief mingling as he realized the truth that was so long ignored by the Jedi Order but understood by his father.

Elijah waved slowly across the skies. "All the angelic hosts of the One and all the record keepers of the innumerable worlds were astonished. The leader of the unfallen angelic army, the one who replaced the Lightbearer, immediately requested of the One to begin preparations for the revelation of the truth to you, because he knew you have done it in the spirit of the One – the same spirit that strengthened the One in his mortal life to not give up on humans, even when it meant his death."

A thick cloud passed over the mount behind them.

"Oh the Enemy fought hard against it," Moses added. "As he realized his time was short, he began intensifying his war efforts on many fronts and was presenting one reason after another why the revelation of the existence of the One cannot be introduced to this galaxy and how that violates the war agreements. It took us decades to win the battle."

A strong breeze rippled the surrounding grass and flowers as the cloud passed.

"In the end, he agreed only on one condition," Moses said, "that all the Jedi – meaning you, all your students, and all the future Jedi – must relinquish all their powers which come from the One, or be permanently surrendered to the control of the Enemy," he paused. "And here we are – vessels chosen for this revelation."

Tiny particles of sand rose from the viewing platform as the thick cloud continued his pass accompanied by the wind.

"Since Ben was under severe attack of the Enemy," Elijah said, "the One first sent us to him. He felt something was wrong inside him and he was running up the mountain to flee from it. Yet, at the same time, this ascent issued from his inner ambition, which he was increasingly embracing."

"There is nothing wrong with climbing the mountain," Enoch added. "In a literal as in a figurative sense. The One loves to see his children grow in knowledge, strength, and influence," he paused. "But selfish ambition climbs alone. Love, on the other hand, descends to the deepest valley of despair to reach people trapped therein, and then climbs with them."

The cloud finally passed, the wind ceased, and the sun resumed its shine, appearing even more brilliant than before, though in the afternoon golden hue. The waterfall reflected its brightness in otherworldly flashes of light, dancing in the spectrum of colors.

"That is what the One did," Elijah said with adoration in his voice, "when he climbed down from his omnipotent and omniscient throne to our poor sin-stricken planet."

"Where can I see how that looked?" Luke's thirst for the knowledge of this entity, who seemed as an embodiment of love, grew stronger with every moment. "I want to see his life, his way of talking, his way of dealing with the people," he said with eagerness in his voice.

"Dear brother," Moses answered, "that is like the most beautiful music of the Beyond to our ears." Others smiled in agreement. Then Moses got out an old-looking book and gave it to Luke. "In this book," he said. "You will see the One."

Luke took the book and gently stroked its unattractive plain leather cover. It didn't seem like he could find wonders within.

"The most valuable things often do not look great in the eyes of the world," Elijah said, "or the galaxy."

They enjoyed quietly the golden hour before the sunset, which on Corellia seemed as bright as the zenith sun. Yet, it took only a few minutes for that bright sun to disappear over the horizon.

"It is time to go back to our poor lonely krahbus," Moses said. On that word, the company of goodly strangers began walking off the viewpoint. Though they evidently enjoyed the perfection of this sunset, somehow they gave off the impression that they have seen much better.

Luke lingered in the soothing sound of the humble wellspring that imbibed the whole metropolitan region and basked a little while in the far-reaching view of the sea and the mountains. This spot will forever be sacred to him. It was the place of the most astonishing revelation of his life. There is something more powerful than force: the wellspring of life and change – love.

"Thank you," he whispered his first prayer to the One and hurried to catch up with the prophets.


	7. An Encounter of Eyes

**A/N**

 **Here the meditations come to their conclusions and some action starts to happen in the last third of the chapter. Will the mission proceed as the visitors anticipated?** ** **There will be some interesting encounters.** Enjoy it!**

* * *

After Luke and his three companions climbed the roofless repulsor funicular and sat down, he looked once more upon the unpresentable cover of the Book of One. _Not great indeed._

As the funicular began its descent, slower this time due to sudden evening gales, the prophets began singing.

"Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the One been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by the Father, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."

Luke didn't understand much of it, but it was a pleasing song.

"It is from the Book," Elijah said, leaning to Luke with a smile, and then continued singing.

Luke couldn't wait to begin reading it. To get a feel of it, he opened a random page. It was in the Galactic Standard language. The title was "Psalm 90: A Prayer of Moses the man of God." He glanced inquisitively at Moses. As he was lost in the joyful song, Luke just read silently.

"You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world. Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man to destruction, and say, 'Return, O children of men.' For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past"

He lifted his eyes back up. As he watched the Coronet City in the distance, bathed in purple twilight, he remembered the dream he had last night when he was riding with the prophets to safety. It was a strange dream. Corellia and the whole galaxy was filled with prosperity and technological advancement, and all the citizens of the galaxy were force-wielders, yet there was a horrible feeling of hollowness Luke has never before imagined. As the song stopped, he inquired, "Can I ask you the meaning of the dream I had last night when you picked me up?"

"You may," Enoch responded, "and if it is the will of the One, he will give us wisdom to share."

Luke shared his short dream in its entirety, describing all the details, including what he felt during and after the dream.

Elijah leaned back, as the clear explanation came into his mind. "This was a message of the One," he paused. "He showed you how the galaxy would feel if there would be peace and order the Enemy's way – without love."

"The Enemy first endeavored to achieve it through overpowering terror," Moses added, "by the Empire."

"Now," Enoch continued, "he plans to achieve it by empowering everyone," he paused ominously. "By making everyone obsessed with increasing their own personal power, as he is, the Enemy seeks to make them intimately dependent on his power and thus separate them permanently from the One."

"That is why now is the right time," Moses added, "to relinquish Force-wielding power."

"So," Luke said lowly as he realized, "it is time for the Jedi to end."

"In the present form, yes," Enoch responded. "But not if they substitute Force-wielding for love and prayer. Otherwise, their future will be darker than that of the Sith."

Luke shivered in terror as the image from the dream came back to him of a Jedi who approached him with a smiling face, which soon dissipated under the pull of a terrible void behind the pretending mask, so abysmal that it woke him up screaming from the bottom of his soul. "Would everyone in the galaxy be so hollow as that Jedi from the dream if they would entirely separate themselves from the One?" he asked.

"Yes," Enoch responded with unambiguous certainty.

"May that never happen," Luke said resolutely.

"It will not," Moses affirmed.

"Wait," Luke realized, "in your time, our galaxy's history has ended, hasn't it?"

"Yes."

"So we won!" Luke stood up, filled with victorious relief.

"The One won," Elijah corrected him. "The Enemy's project showed everyone that, no matter how hard he tried, he always failed to produce the peace and order without the law of love."

"It was a bitter defeat for the Enemy," Enoch said, "followed by the complete destruction of the most wicked generation on our planet, except one loyal family that was saved in a ship made according to the specifications given by the One himself. As the flood burst from above and beneath our planet's surface, the Enemy and his Inimical Army feared they will also perish. They were terrified by the outstretched arm of the One that brought a just judgment to a violent generation."

"The Enemy lost all hope of regaining the blessed realm of the Beyond," Moses picked up, "though he didn't share that realization with the others. He still promised he will gather the army among the citizens of our planet, which he would raise to life in the last day and lead to the last battle against the City of the One when it descends down to our planet, thus reconquering the capital of the Beyond for himself and all his followers."

Luke listened intently in spite of the strong winds rushing through his ears and tousling his hair.

"But in his heart," Moses continued, "he knows it is only a fantasy. He knows a fire from above will forever end the miserable existence of him and his minions. His sold-out followers also know it but find it too hard to bear that truth, so they play 'gathering the army' show. But all have heard the words of the One, and tremble whenever they think of their soon last judgment."

"From the ancient moment he realized the doom of his destiny – to the most recent hour," Elijah added, "his only satisfaction is in hurting the One through pulling as many of his children into eternal destruction along with himself. He also enjoys destruction and pain in this life, for every woe that escapes the beings the One created throbs his heart, even it is only an animal."

"But he does not enjoy the pain which brings people to seek the help of the One," Moses added. "Such he rather prospers, as the first and foremost thing that he seeks is their eternal destruction, which will leave eternal scars in the heart of the One."

"So, though we know the One will have victory on our planet," Elijah concluded, "we do not know which souls will share that victory," he paused and then said portentously. "And the same applies to your galaxy."

Luke suddenly felt the solemnity of the moment and the duty that is upon him.

The funicular finished its descent, and Luke disembarked along with his companions. The beach was almost entirely empty now that the evening has darkened it. Pearly sand shore reflected the twilight skies in a million shades of purple, orange and turquoise, the latter coming from the moon Gus Treta. What a conclusion to the day. Just last night, it was the same turquoise reflection of that same moon which Luke thought would be the last sight he would see before dying. But the One did not let that the last reflection Luke would see of that moon be on the sharp teeth of the beast that was about to devour him. Instead, he let him see it once again, on the infinite pearly sands. Luke saw it as a beautiful token of the hope and the everlasting future that the One has for him.

As it was late, Luke and his companions took one of the small roofless silent tram wagons that traversed the elongated beach thousands of times a day. As they enjoyed the silent travel, interrupted only by wind gusts, Luke's thoughts went to the father he never had. Speaking over the increasing wind, he asked his friends, "If my father was alive today, do you think he would also choose the One?"

Elijah looked at him warmly. "He would," he paused, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder, "and he already did."

Luke barely nodded and his eyes were moistened with tears as he looked away. "Thank you," again he whispered to the One.

They disembarked at the spot where their krahbus were waiting patiently. Elijah went to one of them and caressed its hair, to which the animal affectionately neighed. He released the others to happy freedom, while he led this one to Luke. "Here, this faithful krahbu will take you to your X-Wing."

Luke gently tapped the lovely animal. "Will I ever see you again?" he asked his companions with pathos.

Elijah set his hand on Luke's shoulder and looked straight into his eyes, "That depends on you, my friend," he paused. "Not in this world. But if you will be faithful to the end, we will see you in the Beyond. Who knows, maybe even before the day of recollection of the dust. Maybe the One will honor you with ascension as he did us."

"But in this life," Moses said, "the agreement was only one meeting with you. We must proceed to help others. And you must learn to make the One your friend and comfort." He too looked straight into Luke's eyes. "Pray to him. Read his Book with pleading for understanding. It will be a fountain of life to you. You will have even better times of fellowship than you had today by that fountain on the mount. You will know the One as your friend though you do not yet see him with your eyes."

"It is possible," Enoch said. "I lived thus for three hundred three score and five years. He was my closest friend, and that is why he took me up to see him face to face."

"And beware," Elijah warned, "you will be tempted to use the Force again. Since you know the full truth, the One will not come to your side if you use it. You would fall under the control of the Enemy. You will be tempted to contact your dead friends. Remember that those are impersonations of the inimical spirits. Your friends are lying in the dust, awaiting the day of recollection."

The evening winds increased.

"Do not trust your instinct and feelings," Moses added. "They are not bad, but they _are_ unsteady and prone to manipulation by the inimical spirits. The Book will help you discern all the illusions, even when your own eyes deceive you. Listen to the silent voice of the spirit of the One, yet still test all voices and see whether they agree with the Book. When you seek answers, do not search your feelings. Search the Scriptures, gain the grounded faith, and only then will the feelings align with reality. But never make them a foundation for your decisions," he paused significantly. "Your nephew will get some more time. Help him."

"When you come into temptation," Elijah added, "pray to the One. When you need supernatural intervention, pray to the One. When you need wisdom, pray to the One," he paused. "Through prayer of faith, hearers of the One have subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." He raised his tone as the waves were getting louder. "Supernatural powers have slipped out of your hands, but you are in the hands of the omnipotent One. He will care for you."

"It is time," Moses said. Luke came to him and hugged him long. He did the same to Enoch. Then he came and hugged Elijah too, for several moments longer. "I feel especially close to you."

Elijah smiled and looked him in the eyes with fatherly care, "My brother, that is because you are equally prone to discouragement as I was. After my failure to stand up to a wicked queen, though the One wrought miracles through me that very day, I felt so disappointed with myself that I escaped into the wilderness, far from the eyes of the civilization, and wanted to die. Do not to that, my friend. The One is always ready to accept us, no matter what our failure was. He will never turn away his sincere, heartsick child. Learn to listen to his still, small voice."

Luke hugged Elijah tight once more, as Moses and Enoch watched, smiling with empathy. After releasing him and seeing the joyful faces of his two long-time friends, Luke said, "I want to have what you have. No Force is good as this love."

"You already have it," Moses said.

"Keep receiving it," Enoch added.

"And... may the One be with you," Elijah finished.

Suddenly, the three figures began changing, shining with bright glory. With a blinding flash of light, they ascended above the sea and disappeared into the skies.

Luke continued looking toward the skies, and then looked down to the Book. He thought he heard a silent voice in his mind: "Down is a way up. It is written here." They did told him to be attentive to his voice. But this was not a real voice, more like a thought, yet it clearly felt as coming from outside. He opened the Book at a random page.

It read, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us." As he looked up the top of the page, it was written: "The Gospel of Luke."

Another flash of light interrupted his reading. This one came from the opposite direction, from the city. A familiar sound of an S-foiled starfighter settled behind him. He turned around and saw his own X-Wing, hovering directly in front of him. Ben was in the cockpit. Luke held his lightsaber in one hand and the Book of One in the other. He stood without moving.

X-Wing finally landed and the cockpit was opened. His black-clad nephew descended from it and walked several steps toward Luke.

Luke continued to hold tight his lightsaber and the Book.

Ben approached further, slowly walking toward Luke. At last, he stopped some three meters before him. He didn't say anything.

Neither did Luke.

Suddenly, Ben took out his cross-shaped lightsaber hilt. He held it tightly in his right hand, but didn't turn it on. He had a blank expression on his face.

Luke still didn't move.

Finally, Ben threw his cross-shaped hilt on the sandy ground and fell down on his knees. "I'm sorry, uncle," he began crying. "I was wrong."

Luke immediately dropped his lightsaber and the Book, ran toward Ben, and hugged him tight, with his eyes closed, while Ben was sobbing. Then he held Ben's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Ben, it's okay," he said reassuringly. "It's okay."

"Thank you, master," Ben responded in a subdued voice, ducking his eyes for a moment, before lifting them again to gaze at Luke.

"I think you won't have to call me that, anymore."

The winds were blowing the sand over the cross-shaped lightsaber hilt, as if beginning its burial.

"And Ben," Luke paused as he looked him in the eyes, "thank _you_."

"For what, uncle?"

After a short pause, Luke replied, "For praying for me."

Ben lowered his eyes, as if trying to avoid the topic. "What is that?"

"I think you know well." Luke gripped Ben's shoulders more tightly, looking him straight in the eyes. "Ben, I would be dead."

After several moments of silence, Ben finally said, "Thank the One."

"Indeed." Luke nodded, put his hands off Ben's shoulders and turned to go to pick up his stuff. "I learned marvelous things today," he shouted as he walked. "All the time, we were learning about the Jedi, the Sith, the light and the dark side of the Force..." Luke shook his head in excitement, "It's so much bigger. Reality is so much bigger." He picked up the Book. Then he looked at the lightsaber. He hesitated for a moment. He picked it up, turned and ran after Ben.

"I know, uncle." Ben finally sounded a little more encouraged. "I want to read the Book they gave you," he said as he climbed the X-Wing.

Luke came quickly and sat behind him. "Oh, I will gladly share it with you. And I will tell you everything I learned today," he said as the engines started, and the starfighter began to hover. "I thought I lost you. I thought I would never be able to tell you any of this."

"Thank the One that it was not so," Ben said as the cockpit closed. "I was wrong. But now I know what I have to do," he paused and turned around to look in the eyes of his uncle. "Will you help me?"

"With joy, Ben," Luke responded warmly, tapping his shoulder once, "that is what uncles do."

Ben smiled for the first time and turned around as R2D2 chirped happily.

"Oh I'm happy to see you too, Artoo!" Luke responded. "You won't believe when you hear about all that happened in one day."

The shrill of the starfighter's engines was getting louder.

"This is coming up better than I thought," Luke mumbled to himself with content as he tightened his belts in preparation for flight.

Under Ben's control, X-Wing began to ascend beside the mountain, turning slowly toward the clear dark-blue skies it was about to speedily fly through.

But one more encounter had to happen before it.

The three prophets haven't yet gone from the planet. When they saw that Ben has returned so quickly, contrary to what they expected, they returned to watch Luke's encounter with him. They stood at the nearest mountain top, observing keenly.

As the X-Wing continued to ascend in a hovering mode, it came close to where they were standing. Ben looked to the left and noticed the three figures.

He recognized them.

Last time, it was only a vision. Now, for the first time, he saw them with his own eyes.

His eyes met with theirs. He paused for a few moments. He didn't say a word.

Neither did they.

At last, with an expression of utter disinterest, Ben turned his head forward. And punched the X-Wing toward the dark skies.

The prophets remained standing in silence as the evening insects graced the air with their mellow sounds. The usual evening gales abated. A very distant lightning flashed over the horizon.

As the prophets ruminated in this calm before the storm, one thought dominated their minds.

When he realizes Ben's deception and darkness, will Luke Skywalker cling to the One above the sky and walk through the storm with him? Or will he reach for the familiar?

The calm was deafening.

"Poor brother Luke," Enoch finally broke the silence.

Another distant flash of lightning.

"This mission may take longer than we thought," Moses said.

Insects hummed untroubled.

Elijah just stood in silence. And prayed.

 **A/N**

 **That's it - FIN, THE END.**

 **How did you like it? Do you think it provided a good backstory for the sequel trilogy? Are the characters portrayed faithfully? Are the two worlds connected/crossovered convincingly? What feelings did it provoke? I really look forward to hear your impressions!**

P.S. In the end, I have to give credits to the _Conflict of the Ages_ series, Ellen G. White's novelization of the Biblical cosmic conflict narrative, which was of significant help in composing this story. Since it's in public domain, I've collected the links to all 5 vols in chronological order and various formats and put it in the Downloads section of my blog (see my bio).


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